Contributed by Peter Lowitt, based on an article from Newswire.ca, May 2017
Synergie Économique Laurentides (SEL) is applying a very simple concept: one business's waste has the potential to become another business's raw material. SEL plays a key role in the creation of industrial symbiosis by connecting businesses in the Laurentides region in order to facilitate the exchange of waste, energy and expertise. First and foremost, this integrated resource management approach addresses economic concerns, such as the depletion of natural resources and the increase in energy and raw material prices.
Over the past year, SEL contacted over 400 of the 700 manufacturing companies targeted in the first step of the characterization in order to gather information about the business's raw materials and waste. The results obtained provided an overall picture of the region and allowed for the identification of opportunities for better assisting businesses in the region be processed.