A MANUFACTURING scheme based in Birmingham is to be rolled out across Europe after proving a success.

The National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) has been credited with creating and safeguarding 3,125 jobs, generating £330 million in sales and saving £195 million in costs since it was set up in 2005.

It is already being copied by governments in China and Brazil which are seeking to cut down on industrial waste and help companies find new ways to make money.

And a new EU initiative on waste means it is set to provide a model for the 27 member states who are being urged to launch a similar programme. The scheme brings together manufacturing and industrial companies so they can swap waste materials which can then be reused profitably by others.

NISP helped a foam factory in Dudley find use for its offcuts, to make into rubble sacks, which generated £35,000 cost saving, diverted 4,200 cubic metres of foam from landfill and created one job. The scheme also helped Leamington Spa-based supplier of components for vehicle interiors Grupo Antolin. The supplier was previously sending 1,367 tonnes of its headliner trim used for the interior roof section of the car to landfill.