From Waste Streams to Value Networks

The shift of the linear model of production to the circle of industrial ecosystems presupposes the need of the fundamental change in the perception and treatment of waste in the industrial systems. The chapter states how digital and green technologies can initiate the conversion of waste streams into interrelated value networks to promote sustainable production and consumption. Basing the idea on the theory of the circular economy and industrial ecology, the discussion also provides the role of data analytics, digital platforms, and traceability systems in enhancing the visibility of materials, coordination, and reuse across organizational boundaries. The chapter shows how technology-enabled collaboration helps industrial symbiosis, increase resource efficiency, and decrease environmental externalities using conceptual analysis and recent case examples, and puts a major emphasis on waste valorization as a fundamental component of resilient circular industrial ecosystems.