Cost and Environmental Impact Savings Enabled by Industrial Symbiosis Implementation

Industrial waste generation poses a growing environmental and economic challenge, with manufacturing activities contributing significantly to metal waste production. A large portion of materials never reaches the final product, and conventional recycling methods for metals, such as remelting, are energy-intensive and result in substantial material losses. To overcome such losses circular economy logic is mandatory in the near future. By rethinking waste management within manufacturing, it is possible to move toward a more resource-efficient and circular industrial system. One promising solution is indeed Industrial Symbiosis, which shifts the perspective of waste from a burden to a resource that can be reintegrated into other manufacturing processes. This approach promotes the exchange of materials, energy, and services between industries, with the aim of reducing waste generation and optimizing resource use. However, still some issues affect the implementation of industrial symbiosis. In the present work both the environmental impact and associated costs have been evaluated in a comparative perspective analyzing a conventional manufacturing approach versus a symbiotic one. The analysis aims to demonstrate the applicability of industrial symbiosis, considering a given case study, and shows how industries can reduce waste and lower energy consumption, but an increasing cost is observed due to the lack of industrial practices and non-dedicated machines.