Waste=Value=Profit

We transform one member’s waste into another member’s production process, fueling the circular economy.

By-Product Synergy Network (BPSn):

A By-Product Synergy is formed through the practice of matching undervalued production waste (by-product) to entities that can use this material in their production processes (synergy). Benefits are formed by creating connections.

Revenues for some, savings for others, and valuable business connections (network) for everyone. The benefits to our members come from mutual respect for our planet and sharing its resources.

How does it work?

By-Product Synergy: the matching of materials and wasted resources from one facility with potential users at another facility to create new revenues or savings, environmental and societal benefits.

We provide a collaborative network to address sustainability related issues important to member companies.

Provides a structured process through which companies can identify and vet partners
Helps companies identify and implement synergies where wasted resources at one facility are used at another
Provides tools for the management of materials and synergy data
Helps obtain financial resources for implementation

Convene as many organizations as possible, the more present, the better the opportunities:

Networking events and working meetings
- Meetings are guided by a documented, step-by-step process. A facilitated process through which members develop relationships and build trust

Members identify and discuss materials, waste and other issues important to their operations

Sustainable Ohio helps members document materials and waste information using a variety of tools and databases

Sustainable Ohio evaluates data and works with members to identify potential by-product synergy opportunities

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Case Studies

Drum Reuse and Solvent Recycling

Used hospital lab “waste” solvent is placed into repurposed 55 gallon drums which were previously used for ingredient storage at a consumer products company and then sent to the landfill for disposal. Filled drums are then picked up by a transport vendor and the “waste” solvent (or by-product) can be used to clean railroad cars, with state EPA approvals. The spent materials from the cleaning process (or another by-product) goes to a fuel blending facility and are used as fuel (or an input) for cement kilns.
Plastic into Fuel

What do you do with the variety of plastics (#3-6) that can’t be readily recycled through normal operations and techniques? The Sustainable Ohio BPS Network worked with a company in Ohio on their full-scale trial unit to supply plastic inputs for a pyrolysis operation which turned plastics into fuel. Since that time, two organizations have taken up the full-scale pyrolysis production of fuels, with one of the units processing over 40 tons a day into a fuel blend!
Firefighting to Animal Fun

Fire hoses need to be replaced on a frequent schedule to avoid any possibility of a leaky hose. Rather than sending them to a landfill, local fire departments near a Sustainable Ohio member Zoo are able to donate the fire hoses which are made into items for animal enrichment, including hammocks, swinging ropes and resting platforms.
De-Packaging Waste into Feed

One of Sustainable Ohio’s member companies had an idea of a better way to separate food from the industrial and consumer packaging to reduce landfilling, allow for recycling of plastics, and utilize the food as an input into another operation. Through the membership connections and utilization of the Ohio EPA market grant program, our member company was able to purchase a large de-packaging machine that can separate multiple types of material from the packaging. The member company was able to prove the theory by recycling the plastic and using the packaged material in animal feed, power generation, and other industries.
Picnic Tables to Pipes

Being a member of Sustainable Ohio paid off well for an Ohio Zoo. They were replacing old plastic picnic tables and were committed to finding a reuse for the parts rather than landfilling them. Fortunately at a Sustainable Ohio network meeting, the Zoo met up with staff from a local company that recycles hard plastics into drainage tile. The company picked up 100 6-foot long table tops and 200 seats well as additional plastic lumber scrap from the Zoo. Through this synergy, 1.5 TONS of plastic was diverted from the landfill and will have a useful life as underground pipe for about 100 years!
Holiday Light Synergy

A Sustainable Ohio member Zoo annually holds a winter light celebration, using over three million twinkling lights. Each year some strands reach the end of their life and need to be replaced. The Zoo made a connection with a Sustainable Ohio member electronics recycling company that was able to pick up the lights and recycle the component parts, rather than having them sent to a landfill. Now electronic recycling is brighter than ever for the Zoo!