Nature Environment and Pollution Technology (Dec 2021)

Implementation of Eco-Industrial Park for Effectual Establishment of Circular Economy in Russia

  • Ipsita Saha, Tatiana S. Smirnova and Vladimir A. Maryev

DOI
https://doi.org/10.46488/NEPT.2021.v20i05.020
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 5
pp. 2031 – 2040

Abstract

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In recent years, waste management has become a major concern in Russian cities. This can be addressed through the circular economy. Developing Eco-Industrial Parks (EIP) can be considered an innovative infrastructure of a circular economy. EIP is based upon the principles of industrial symbiosis involving the exchange of material and energy flows, sharing of infrastructural facilities, and provision of municipal utility and other services. Researchers have found that most industrial symbiotic interconnections originated spontaneously, the main driver being the increasing commercial benefits of such interchange. Still, the authors were able to identify pre-designed EIP through their examination of global practices. This paper proposes a five-stage methodological approach to EIP organization. This methodology was applied to create a model of an EIP in the Voronezh Region, one of the fastest developing regions in Russia. Implementation of this model is intended to help solve a set of environmental, economic, and social problems of a region. The approach to creating EIPs described in this study can be used in other places to improve resource efficiency and reduce waste disposal. Because Russia’s garbage disposal rate currently exceeds 90% per year, this is one of the country’s top sustainable development priorities.

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