There’s no time to Waste: Recycling Modernisation Fund will turbo-charge Australia’s Circular Future

“This is a once in a generation opportunity to remodel waste management, reduce pressure on our environment and create economic opportunity.”

The Hon Sussan Ley MP, Minister for the Environment

In 2017 our growing waste problem came out of the shadows. War on Waste highlighted our issues with single-use plastic, e-waste, fast furniture, food waste and more, bringing it to the forefront of our minds. No longer ‘out of sight, out of mind’, Australians grew very concerned about the end points of our waste and a lack of visibility on the waste generated and where it was going, with many Australians pushing local, state and federal government for waste reform.

So the announcement from the federal government in a Media Release - who are committing $190 million to a new Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) - is welcome news indeed and definitely a step in the right direction. The proposed funding is anticipated to generate $600 million of recycling investment and drive a billion-dollar transformation of Australia’s waste and recycling capacity.

“Our targeted investment will grow Australia’s circular economy, create more jobs and build a stronger onshore recycling industry,” 

said by Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, Trevor Evans

Our work over the last few years has seen us get up close and personal with waste and the $43 billion of underused goods (aka dormant goods) in Australia, all of which are at risk of ending up in landfill. Via our Circular Economy Precinct in Morningside, we advocate and provide mechanism for “keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible” - a key concept for a circular economy. 

Pictured: Assistant Minister Trevor Evans, at our Retail Rescue event. Held in March 2020

Recycling is incredibly important and really just the beginning of widespread reform. For want of a better expression, we must start by ‘mopping up the floor’. And while we’re mopping up the floor, let’s ensure we’re simultaneously managing the tap. 

In other words while we’re recycling all the goods that come through the system...

let’s provide options before recycling such as reuse, repair, repurpose and renew,

that will ensure products and components circulate at their highest levels of integrity and performance in the economy, for as long as possible.

So while big investment is coming from the federal government for material recovery facilities, the key issue as highlighted by Gayle Sloan WMRR CEO, is that state governments bring new money to the table that translates into many more million dollars, creating many more jobs in Australia. 

“We will also need strategic projects fast-tracked, so that we can see the impact on the ground sooner rather than later.” 

And WBGS are taking a genuine stewardship role, poised to deliver not only a facility that will be a supply-chain for recycling, but will operate within the ‘inner loops’ of a circular technical cycle. We are currently leading a Circular Economy Precinct as a think-and-do-tank (in Morningside), to accelerate the transition to a circular economy (whilst also acting as a catalyst and coordinator for the diffusion and scaling of innovation activity). 

Equipped with a broad long term vision, established network and demonstrated capability, we already have several critical components in place for a world leading success based in Queensland. Investment would amplify and accelerate this work in-line with federal, state and local goals.

This is not about thought leadership, this is about action leadership. Funding directed to organisations who have business models and partnerships already in place, who are doing to the doing, will have immediate tangible positive impact on diversion of landfill. Resources will not just be recycled, but remanufactured, renewed, repurposed and repaired creating a new paradigm for waste within a new economy - the circular economy.

Reach out to us to learn (and do) more: https://worldsbiggestgaragesale.com.au/