Life Cycle Assessment of Industrial Symbiosis for Circular Solid Waste Management: A Literature Review

Reza Vahidzadeh, Marta Domini () and Giorgio Bertanza ()
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Reza Vahidzadeh: Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics (DICATAM), University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Marta Domini: Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics (DICATAM), University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Giorgio Bertanza: Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics (DICATAM), University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy

Clean Technol., 2025, vol. 7, issue 4, 1-31

Abstract: In recent years, industrial symbiosis (IS) has gained attention as a strategy to enhance circularity and to reduce the environmental impacts of solid waste management through resource reuse and recovery. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly used to evaluate the environmental performance of such inter-industry collaborations. Given the growing diversity of IS practices and LCA models, this updated review serves as a methodological reference, mapping existing approaches and identifying gaps to guide future research on the systematic assessment of circular strategies. Moreover, it investigates the environmental performance of IS approaches in the field, based on the LCA results of the analyzed case studies. We analyzed 48 peer-reviewed studies to examine how LCA has been applied to model and assess the environmental impacts and benefits of IS in the context of waste management. The literature revealed wide methodological variability, including differences in system boundaries, functional units, and impact categories, affecting comparability and consistency. Case studies confirm that IS can contribute to reducing environmental burdens, particularly with regard to climate change and resource depletion, though challenges remain in modelling the complex inter-organizational exchanges and accessing reliable data. Socio-economic aspects are increasingly considered but remain underrepresented. Future research should focus on methodological improvements, such as greater standardization and the better integration of indirect effects, to strengthen LCA in decision-making and to explore a wider range of scenarios reflecting different stakeholders, analytical perspectives, and the evolution of symbiotic systems over time.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; circular economy; solid waste; industrial symbiosis; environmental impact; resources; climate change; greenhouse gases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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