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Sustainable Industrial Design and Waste Management
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instead of virgin material that is currently used, and the potential for selling
their byproducts instead of disposing of them as wastes. Finally, they summa-
rized this data and prepared a flow diagram illustrating the inputs and outputs
of each company. From this diagram, they identified several opportunities
for symbiotic byproduct exchange.

EIP members
The prototype EIP contains 12 members; some of them are within the area
of Brownsville, while others are located at remote sites. Therefore, this eco-
industrial park is referred to in many literatures as a “virtual” eco-industrial
park.

EIP port members
• Refinery: The refinery produces three products: naphtha, diesel, and
residual oil. It expects to be producing approximately 8,300 barrels
per day of each of these products. Its main input materials are light
crude oil and energy.
• Stone company: The stone company brings limestone into the port
and distributes it to companies in the area. At baseline, it sells stone
to the asphalt company.
• Asphalt company: The asphalt company uses limestone from the
stone company and residual oil from the refinery to produce asphalt
for use on roads in the area.
• Tank farms: Clusters of tanks belonging to a variety of companies
offload a variety of fluids brought into the port by ship and store them
until they are delivered to their destinations by tanker trucks. The
tanks sit in the port and frequently contain materials that must be
kept warm to remain fluid. At baseline, they burn natural gas to gen-
erate the steam required to keep the materials warm.

Remote partners
• Discrete parts manufacturer: This company produces plastic and
metal parts using screw machines, automated roll feed punch presses,
and injection molding. At baseline, this company gives away used oil
(about 100 gallons per month) to a recycler; it also landfills about 75%
of its scrap plastics.
• Textile plant: This company assembles garments. It uses a small
amount of solvents to wash parts. An outside party treats and dis-
poses of compressor oil waste. A large quantity of high density poly-
ethylene is landfilled.
• Auto parts manufacturer: This company uses plastic injection mold-
ing, metal stamping, and powdered metal forming to make small
parts for assembly at a facility. A distant recycler buys the com-
pany’s plastic scrap. The company also pays for disposal of several
types of oil.