{"id":33802,"date":"2025-02-18T09:44:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T14:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/?page_id=33802"},"modified":"2026-05-06T08:12:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T12:12:34","slug":"uncovering-opportunities-for-industrial-circular-economy-exchanges-in-maine","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/uncovering-opportunities-for-industrial-circular-economy-exchanges-in-maine\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncovering Opportunities for Industrial Circular Economy Exchanges in Maine"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/03\/sewer-pipes-2259514-sm.jpg\" alt=\"Stack of sewer pipes\" class=\"wp-image-34031\" style=\"width:374px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/03\/sewer-pipes-2259514-sm.jpg 500w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/03\/sewer-pipes-2259514-sm-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/03\/sewer-pipes-2259514-sm-105x70.jpg 105w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/03\/sewer-pipes-2259514-sm-317x211.jpg 317w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/03\/sewer-pipes-2259514-sm-423x282.jpg 423w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 85vw, (max-width: 768px) 67vw, (max-width: 1024px) 62vw,500px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Opportunity for Input<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Are you a Maine-based manufacturer?<\/strong>&nbsp;We&#8217;d love to hear from you! <a href=\"https:\/\/umaine.qualtrics.com\/jfe\/form\/SV_cU8FwwgV4Da9L7M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Take our short survey<\/a> and help us build Maine&#8217;s Industrial Symbiosis Network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sponsor: <\/strong>Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maine generates significant quantities of non-hazardous industrial waste (NHIW), materials like cellulose trimmings, leather, sandblast grit, and pulp mill waste that are typically landfilled. While these materials pose little environmental or health risk, disposing of them is costly for manufacturers and represents a missed opportunity for resource efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This project explores how NHIW can be reduced, reused, or repurposed through industrial symbiosis, the practice of one organization&#8217;s waste becoming another&#8217;s resource. Industrial symbiosis is a key component of the circular economy, a system designed to keep materials and products in use for as long as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Building on the Manufacturers Association of Maine&#8217;s (MAME) 2019 Waste to Wares feasibility study, and drawing on successful models from programs like the UK National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) and Denmark&#8217;s Kalundborg Symbiosis, this project is working to establish the <strong>Maine Materials Exchange Network (MEME)<\/strong>, a statewide platform connecting manufacturers, municipalities, and other stakeholders to facilitate material exchanges across Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Faculty and Staff Leaders:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dr. Reed Miller, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Advanced Structures &amp; Composites Center, 91爆料<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dr. Cindy Isenhour, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology and Climate Change Institute, Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow, 91爆料<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dr. Jean MacRae, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow, 91爆料<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John Belding, Director, Advanced Manufacturing Center, 91爆料<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Student Researchers:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Zainab Jafri, Graduate Research Assistant, School of Economics and School of Policy and International Affairs, 91爆料<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mino Iobst, Undergraduate Research Assistant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Partners:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Maine Municipal Association<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>91爆料 Materials Management Research Group<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Manufacturers Association of Maine<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maine Resource Recovery Association<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Current Progress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The research team is actively conducting a statewide survey of Maine manufacturers to map material flows, identify underutilized waste streams, and assess barriers to participation in industrial symbiosis. Survey responses are being used to build a picture of exchange opportunities across the state and to inform the development of a matchmaking platform connecting organizations with complementary material needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>GIS-based mapping of material flows and a final ArcGIS StoryMap are planned to visualize opportunities for exchange across Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Get Involved<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you a Maine-based manufacturer with materials you&#8217;re currently disposing of that could be useful to another organization, or looking for a reliable source of a particular material? <a href=\"https:\/\/umaine.qualtrics.com\/jfe\/form\/SV_cU8FwwgV4Da9L7M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Take our survey here<\/strong><\/a>. It takes just a few minutes and directly supports the development of Maine&#8217;s circular economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interested in joining the Maine Materials Exchange Network? <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/ogzwUPtbCQrmQMBY9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Register here<\/strong><\/a> to become a member and be part of Maine&#8217;s growing circular economy community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, contact <a href=\"mailto:zainab.jafri@maine.edu\">Zainab Jafri<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-33802_edd18a-ba .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-33802_edd18a-ba .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;width:80%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-33802_edd18a-ba\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opportunity for Input Are you a Maine-based manufacturer?&nbsp;We&#8217;d love to hear from you! Take our short survey and help us build Maine&#8217;s Industrial Symbiosis Network. About the Project Sponsor: Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions Maine generates significant quantities of non-hazardous industrial waste (NHIW), materials like cellulose trimmings, leather, sandblast grit, and pulp mill waste that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":957,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-33802","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"mitchellcenter","author_link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/author\/mitchellcenter\/"},"comment_info":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/957"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33802"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36641,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33802\/revisions\/36641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}