Toward a sociological approach of industrial ecology in harbor area: DEPART, a French applied research program

Abstract : Harbor areas are hubs between the sea and their 'hinterland' and gateways for major material, waste, and energy flows. As areas of high economic interest, they concentrate strategic resource, which enable the development of complementary activities along major corridors of communication, and intensify social and political relations between stakeholders. They appear to be suitable laboratories for investigating how industrial ecology can become a solution for waste management issues. In addition, in France, several institutions involved in harbor development share common waste management issues, such as wise use of dredged materials and construction waste. Material flows, social networks, and waste management awareness are the preconditions for industrial symbiosis. But the question remains: what kind of industrial ecology approach can transform these favorable conditions into sustainable and operational development? Do attempts to impose eco-industrial development lead to more sustainable development than 'uncovering' spontaneous innovative approaches to waste management, which incorporate-albeit unconsciously-industrial ecology principles? (Chertow, 2007) Having won a call for projects from the French environmental agency (ADEME), the DEPART project will be run within the scope of this theoretical and operational context. Our methodological framework insists on the necessity of the profound integration of technical and sociological approaches to industrial ecology as one of the conditions for the success and durability of sustainable waste management.