Industrial Permaculture Design??

Interesting post from WickedLocal news in Massachusetts - designing sustainable industrial estates along "food-forest" lines!

Sustainnovation Consulting partners Howe and Mark Myles of Concord recommend that modeling human systems after the mutualisms of nature — which refers to any relationship between two species of organisms that benefits both species, such as that of the Honeyguide and humans — may help bring solutions to many of society’s modern challenges, including dealing with the waste stream, which is the total flow of solid waste from homes, businesses, institutions and manufacturing plants that is recycled, burned or disposed of in landfills.

“The byproduct of one company is a required ingredient of another,” says Howe.

According to Howe, putting companies in “industrial clusters” — having one company use the waste of another company as a resource — makes economic sense in the same way that a well-functioning old growth forest makes sense. Both the corporation and the forest need to solve problems of input, production and waste without creating a useless waste stream. Read more.