SYMSITES

The impact of climate change has pushed countries and organizations around the world to look for greener energy, processes and ways of reusing waste. In contrast to the linear behaviour based on extraction-use-waste, SYMSITES relies on the closed cycles of natural ecosystems. The objective of this initiative is to develop new technologies and solutions based on the concept of industrial-urban symbiosis (I-US), to generate local and regional collaborations between various actors (citizens, municipalities and companies) and sectors that improve the sustainability of the use of industrial and social resources from wastewater and waste materials.

Its main asset lies in the valorisation of underused materials and energy resources (industrial secondary flows, industrial waste, by-products and urban waste at the end of their useful life) and their transformation into raw material for industrial processes. In other words, SYMSITES develops high-tech solutions to achieve a true circular economy for the sectors involved.

Within the framework of SYMSITES, pilot tests are being carried out based on the application of new technologies and methodologies to four European EcoSites, different in their socio-economic and environmental aspects, ranging from the north (Denmark) to the south (Spain and Greece), passing through the centre (Austria).