Water Circular Economy at the Kwinana Industrial Area, Western Australia—the Dimensions and Value of Industrial Symbiosis

The major industrial companies located in the Kwinana Industrial Area (KIA) produce many industrial, agricultural and mining chemicals and refined materials, for national and international markets. With over 150 documented product and by-product exchanges, Kwinana is considered to be one of the best examples of industrial symbiosis (IS) in the world. A new model of IS comprised of four dimensions is under development, whereby whilst each dimension is unique, collectively, they interact to characterise an industrial estate, thus contributing to the evolutionary understanding of IS. We investigate the basis for this model through an analysis of two water circular economy examples as they relate to Western Australia’s premier industrial area, the KIA. Case studies will consider a managed aquifer recharge (MAR) project that failed and the process water interconnectedness of enterprises operating successfully as a sub-ecology within the industrial cluster. Apart from the traditional product and by-product dimension of IS, three additional dimensions seem to be playing a crucial role in the KIA, these being the skilled workforce, support industry and governance dimensions. We provide additional context for the water-related examples of the circular economy at Kwinana by exploring a new four-dimensional model for IS.