Sustainable Industrial Community

Abstract

Nowadays, the style of living that significantly depends on consumption of resources and over consumption patterns, tremendous increase in population, urbanization and industrialization resulted into generation of huge amounts of industrial wastes. Many environmental problems are facing industrial areas, especially in developing countries, due to poor industrial hazardous waste management. In order to reduce the effect of industrial waste on the environment and to reach sustainable development, countries have developed and reinforced several environmental protection laws and regulations. Yet, the waste disposals via incineration and/or landfilling according to cradle-to-grave concept require high capital, high running costs and are seen by industries as a barrier for further industrial development. Most importantly, disposals of waste deplete natural resources causing them to be unsustainable. Hence, various concepts and strategies have been suggested to promote industrial sustainability. The aim of this paper is to present different concepts and practices including Cradle-to-Cradle approach, Cleaner Production, Industrial Ecology, Eco-Industrial Park and Environmentally Balanced Industrial Complex described in literature that help develop a successful sustainable industrial community and reach zero pollution. These concepts are illustrated via case studies. Moreover, this paper tackles the challenges facing industrial areas in Egypt and emphasis on the imperative need for considering sustainable industrial community.