Search

Waste and resource recovery industry celebrates success

We are an online community created around a smart and easy to access information hub which is focused on providing proven global and local insights about sustainability

30 Aug, 2024

This post was originally published on Sustainability Matters

In the time since the Waste and Resource Recovery Association of Australia’s ENVIRO Conference in Brisbane I’ve been reflecting on the positive impact our inaugural ENVIRO Award winners have had on our industry in achieving Australia’s goal of a transition to a circular economy.

And let us just take a moment to celebrate the good and give ourselves as an industry a pat on the back, because all too often we dwell on the negative in our space.

When WMRR decided to launch the awards, we deliberately set out to find some of the hidden gems or those who were previously unrecognised within the waste and resource recovery industry — and I’m proud I think we achieved just that with the help of our expert judges, John Gertsakis, Nicole Greenwood and Michelle Mandl.

As Michelle noted in her award presentation speech, the term circular economy was first coined in a research report completed for the European Commission by economist and architect Dr Walter Stahel in 1976. He sketched a vision of an economy in loops promoting product-life extension, long-life goods, reconditioning activities and waste prevention.

He went on to refine his so-called ‘closed loop’ approach, eventually publishing The Circular Economy: A User’s Guide in 1999 in collaboration with the Ellen Macarthur Foundation in what has become known as the definitive worldwide guide for the circular economy.

But before the term circular economy even existed, there was Reverse Garbage, a self-funded not-for-profit enterprise operation and creative reuse centre in Sydney’s Inner West.

Reverse Garbage was the winner of the ENVIRO Circular Transformation Award.

What sets this group apart from the rest is that it does not turn away anything for donation that is safe for reuse in some form. It saved 120,000 kilograms of material from landfill in 2022/23 — a remarkable effort from just one centre and one that is truly transformative.

In addition to assisting with troubled youth and adults, Reverse Garbage also kicked into gear during the pandemic when PPE was short — quickly making over 1000 face shields for use on the frontline.

The winner of the 2024 ENVIRO Circular Project Award was Wannon Water, through its Circular Economy Roadmap and Toolkit which was developed after the state-owned water and sewerage provider in South West Victoria identified the opportunity to take a system approach to work together across the value chain.

Through this work, Wannon Water built a network and provided the catalyst for regional collaboration and collective action leading to greater innovation, building the capability across a number of organisations, and the identification of projects that met circular economy principles.

What this demonstrated with great clarity is that circularity is not just a ‘nice to have’ for organisations looking to tick an ESL box, but one that can make a real difference to operating efficiency and business outcomes in a positive way. It shows the value of a circular economy is not just to the environment, but to business objectives as well.

And everyone’s favourite winner was Greg Welsh, who took out the Circular Pioneer Award. Greg is the sort of person who should be a legend within our industry given his enormous impact, but he’s too unassuming and modest for that.

Almost every one of this nation’s Gen Z children will have sat in one his 100% Australian-made recycled plastic chairs stemming from his time as CEO of Sebel.

As his nominator wrote: “Greg has pioneered many things in the furniture industry that we now take for granted — like product stewardship — and he used his market power to drive changes.”

One example is the use of recycled material in Laminex and melamine board which continues to this day — not just in Australia but around the world.

About a decade ago, Greg set up a majority Indigenous-owned and controlled business, Winya, supplying desks, lounges and other office furniture to customers such as the Defence Department, Australian Taxation Office and Lendlease utilising salvaged timber from an Arnhem Land mine site that would otherwise have been burnt.

And Greg is not finished yet. He’s now turning his attention to reusing soft wiring from office strip-outs to be tested, certified and resupplied giving the valuable cabling a new life away from the scrap heap.

Rightly so, he has been recognised with the prestigious United Nations Award for Leadership in Sustainable Development Goals.

While there is plenty to be disheartened about in our industry at the moment, these three winners provide a much-needed dose of optimism and hope for us all.

They didn’t wait for government action — in fact some pushed on in spite of it.

It shows you the enormous positive impact the WARR industry can have. I, for one, came away from the Awards energised and invigorated.

Let’s revel in their impact and the hope they provide surety in the knowledge that a circular economy will one day be within our grasp. Congratulations and thanks to the 2024 ENVIRO Awards winners and to all the other amazing and bright people across WARR working to protect our environment and make our world a more sustainable place.

Image credit: iStock.com/SolStock

Pass over the stars to rate this post. Your opinion is always welcome.
[Total: 0 Average: 0]

You may also like…

ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB has gained Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) status for its Gearless Mill Drive (GMD) ring motor — technology used to drive large grinding mills in the mining industry.

An EPD is a standardised document that provides detailed information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Based on a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, the EPD highlights ABB’s commitment to transparency, environmental responsibility and supporting customers in making informed decisions on sustainability in their supply chains.

ABB analysed the environmental impact of a ring motor across its entire life cycle from supply chain and production to usage and end-of-life disposal. The study was conducted for a ring motor of a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill with an installed power of 24 MW and was based on a reference service life of 25 years.

“Sustainability is at the core of our purpose at ABB, influencing how we operate and innovate for customers,” said Andrea Quinta, Sustainability Specialist at ABB. “By earning the Environmental Product Declaration for our ring motor, we emphasise our environmental stewardship and industry leadership for this technology. We adhered to the highest standards throughout this process, as we do in the ABB Ring Motor factory every day. This recognition highlights to the mining industry what they are bringing into their own operations when they work with ABB.”

The comprehensive LCA was conducted at ABB’s factory in Bilbao, Spain, and was externally verified and published in accordance with international standards ISO 14025 and ISO 14040/14044. It will remain valid for five years.

The ring motor, a key component of the GMD, is a drive system without any gears where the transmission of the torque between the motor and the mill is done through the magnetic field in the air gap between the motor stator and the motor rotor. It optimises grinding applications in the minerals and mining industries by enabling variable-speed operation, leading to energy and cost savings.

The full EPD for the ABB GMD Ring Motor can be viewed on EPD International.

Bee Hotels Can Help Native Pollinators Recover in the Wake of Climate-Fueled Wildfires: Study

Bee Hotels Can Help Native Pollinators Recover in the Wake of Climate-Fueled Wildfires: Study

Wild pollinator populations are declining all over the world, with increasingly severe climate change-fueled wildfires threatening their survival. These intense wildfires are also putting long-term ecosystem health and biodiversity at risk. Bee hotels are artificial nesting structures that have been specially designed to house cavity-nesting species. Often placed in backyards or gardens, they provide safe […]
The post Bee Hotels Can Help Native Pollinators Recover in the Wake of Climate-Fueled Wildfires: Study appeared first on EcoWatch.

0 Comments