The high living standards achieved by 500 Million people in the European Union
generates up to 3 Billion tonnes of waste every year and require innovative forms of
recycling. This study aims to analyze the “Sewage and refuse disposal and sanitation”
industry (Waste) as a producer of services able to break down its negative externalities and
transform them into an asset flow for competitive advantage. By adopting the Eurostat Input-
Output (I-O) table database and applying the Natural Resource Based View (NRBV) as
conceptual lens, the top-12 “valuable” ITCs have been made clear for EU-27 countries
(2000-2007). Furthermore, by using the Ghosh I-O model, both direct and indirect (hidden)
forward linkages have been enlightened. Finally, the Lorenz curve and the Gini indices have
highlighted the concentration and rarity of the Intermediate Trade Contacts (ITC). Results
here obtained allow public and private decision makers to increase their own awareness
about the hidden potentials of specific Waste intermediate markets, identifying new markets
and potential partners, managing their intermediate market-portfolio and setting-up strategic
partnerships for both product and process innovation purposes.
