A major new Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research Hub will focus on reducing landfill waste and transforming reclaimed waste into new materials for use in construction and other manufacturing sectors.
Australia’s landfill space is expected to reach capacity by 2025, with roughly 67 million tonnes of waste generated every year, and 30 per cent of that waste going to landfill.
The $18 million ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transformation of Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy (TREMS) will address the urgent waste crisis in Australia.
The new research hub will involve leading scientists, researchers and industrial experts from nine Australian universities and 36 state, industry and international partners and will be led by RMIT University.
The hub will draw from expertise across multiple disciplines including civil, chemical, materials and construction engineering, artificial intelligence, behavioural sciences, environmental procurements and policies and standards.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Vice-President, Professor Calum Drummond says the hub will deliver novel solutions for reclaiming Australia’s waste resources and position Australia as a leader in research contributing to a circular economy. “At RMIT we work closely with industry and other partners to tackle complex environmental, economic and social issues,” he says.
“We are proud to be leading such a globally significant research hub that will help transformation towards a circular economy and contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.”
Minister for Education Dan Tehan says the hub will undertake research with applications in the real world. “Our government is investing in research that will foster strategic partnerships between university-based researchers and industry organisations, to find practical solutions to challenges facing Australian industry.”
TREMS research hub lead, RMIT Professor Sujeeva Setunge, says the multi-sector collaboration will focus on holistic solutions to address the waste crisis, co-designed in partnership with stakeholders.
“Our investigations will include changing behaviours, smart designs to minimise waste, optimum processing of waste and converting waste to energy, developing novel materials using recycling and upcycling technologies, and metrics and tools to encourage uptake of new materials and solutions,” she says.
“There is currently a material shortage for Australia’s $14 billion heavy construction industry, so this research to reclaim waste and transform it into new materials will deliver benefits both economically and environmentally.”
The new hub will focus on 10 challenging waste streams: textile waste; biomass; tyres; glass; paper and cardboard; construction and demolition waste; fly ash; plastics; biochar and timber.
Investing in Australia's waste and recycling infrastructure
Meanwhile, a new Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) announced by the Federal Government in July is set to generate $600 million of recycling investment and transform Australia’s waste and recycling industry.
The government expects the $190 million initiative will create more than 10,000 jobs and divert more than 10 million tonnes of waste from landfill.
The RMF will support innovative investment in new infrastructure to sort, process and remanufacture materials such as mixed plastic, paper, tyres and glass, with Commonwealth funding contingent on co-funding from industry, states and territories.
Australia must recycle around 650,000 additional tonnes of waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres onshore each year by mid-2024 when the Australian government’s waste export ban comes into full effect.