Integration of Underutilized Ashes into Material Cycles by Industry-Urban Symbiosis

Ashes from the incineration of municipal solid waste, biomass and sewage sludge are currently underutilized and a part of them ends up in landfills. With them, a significant number of metals, nutrients, rare earth elements and industrially valuable minerals contained in the ashes are lost as well. Moreover, landfilling of ash costs at least 100-500 euros per tonne, and the costs are only expected to increase in the future. The AshCycle project will provide tools for reducing the waste generation by developing new utilization possibilities.

In the transition to a climate-neutral economy, the social dimension of industrial transformation must not be forgotten, as energy industry and construction sector are an essential part of the EU's economic and industrial structure. Involving the community in its actions increases the social acceptance of new solutions, and tailor-made activities for children, women and civil society ensure a broader understanding of the new technologies and better integration of Industrial-Urban Symbiosis (I-US) concepts. Through various AshCycle events, strong and effective partnerships will be built between local communities, businesses, academia, and civil society for knowledge transfer to respond to industry needs and consumer uptake.