A recent industrial symbiosis workshop produced significant results, with participants identifying 351 resource streams, resulting in 532 potential industrial symbiosis opportunities to transition waste resources into new products and revenue.

The Gauteng Industrial Symbiosis Programme (GISP) Business Opportunity Workshop, hosted by the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Environment, demonstrated that waste is far more than something to dispose of; it is a valuable resource that can unlock new business opportunities.

Bringing together representatives from 66 companies across Gauteng, the workshop provided a practical platform for businesses to explore how industrial symbiosis can reduce costs, improve resource efficiency and strengthen the province's circular economy.

Unlike a conventional networking event, the ISP workshops were designed as a facilitated business exchange.  Participants are guided through a structured process in which they identify surplus materials, by-products, and other waste resources available within other businesses, and share them with companies that need them.

By mapping these needs and opportunities collectively, businesses begin to identify potential matches in which one company's excess resources could become another company's valuable input.

Speaking during a live Radio 702 broadcast from the event, on Clement Manyathela’s show, NCPC National Programme Manager Victor Manavhela explained that industrial symbiosis is a practical approach to connecting businesses in ways that generate both economic and environmental value.

“Industrial symbiosis is about creating partnerships between companies. One business may have materials or other resources that are no longer useful to them but are valuable to another company. Through facilitated matchmaking, we help businesses identify these opportunities so that resources remain in circulation instead of ending up in landfill.”

The workshop showcased how this collaborative approach helps companies source materials they need at no cost, while enabling other businesses to avoid landfill disposal costs and reduce their environmental footprint.

This approach is at the heart of the circular economy, where products and materials are kept in use for as long as possible through reuse, recovery and resource exchange. Industrial symbiosis enables businesses to move beyond the traditional linear model of “take, make and dispose” by creating networks where resources continuously circulate between industries.

The benefits extend well beyond individual businesses. By diverting materials from landfill, industrial symbiosis contributes to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved resource efficiency and more sustainable industries. It stimulates innovation and creates new commercial opportunities for small businesses.

Manavhela also highlighted the critical role played by the Gauteng Department of Environment in enabling these outcomes.

“The investment made by the provincial partners not only helps reduce waste to landfill but also promotes the growth of an emerging waste economy within the province.”

The workshop marks only the beginning of the process. Following the event, the NCPC facilitation team analyses the identified resource streams, verifies technical compatibility between companies and facilitates introductions to help convert the 532 potential synergies into successful industrial partnerships.

As Gauteng continues to generate increasing volumes of industrial waste, initiatives such as GISP demonstrate that collaboration can transform environmental challenges into business opportunities while decarbonising the economy.