Australia’s efforts to transition to a circular economy face significant challenges, according to Gayle Sloan, CEO of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR).
Speaking ahead of the 2024 ENVIRO Conference in Brisbane, Sloan highlighted the pressing need for a collective shift in approach across industry, community, and government to move from a linear to a circular economy.
“It’s alarming that only 5.4 per cent of materials across the country are fully circular – that’s a long way to go to reach the Federal Government’s target of going circular by 2030,” Sloan stated.
“More than a step change is necessary to shift the mindset across the board to ensure the life and value of materials is maximised and carbon is minimised.”
Sloan emphasised the importance of addressing product design and consumption early in the life cycle, rather than focusing solely on end-of-life waste management.
“Australia needs to stop the almost total focus on end of life and address how products are designed and consumed before they even touch our industry,” she said.
Highlighting the environmental impacts of resource extraction and processing, Sloan noted, “Given some 50 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 90 per cent of global biodiversity loss and water stress is caused by resource recovery industry to deal with it at the end of the pipe.”
Sloan called for comprehensive changes to the material life cycle: “As a planet and a country, we need to cut the amount entering the pipe, alter what goes into the pipe, reduce the amount making it to the end of the pipe, and ensure what comes out at the end of pipe can be recovered.”
The upcoming 2024 ENVIRO Conference, hosted by WMRR on 26-27 June in Brisbane, aims to challenge the status quo and foster discussions on responsible production and consumption.
“We will be asking what this looks like in Australia and how we accelerate action given we face real climate risk,” Sloan explained.
“Across two days the 2024 ENVIRO Conference will explore and discuss the systems thinking required to deliver this shift.”
Keynote speakers on the first day include Jill Riseley, Deloitte’s partner for Sustainability, Climate and Circular Economy, who will delve into the Circularity Gap Report 2024; Dr Richard Denniss, executive director of The Australian Institute; and Dr Hans Bruyninckx, former executive director of the European Environment Agency.
Day two will feature a keynote by CSIRO’s Naomi Boxall on Australia’s competitiveness in the global circular economy, followed by an ‘Around the States’ government panel including NSW EPA CEO Tony Chappel, Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action Circular Economy policy director Angela Hoefnagels, and Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation Waste Policy and Legislation director Kylie Hughes.
The conference will offer six specialist sessions covering circular economy insights, the built environment, business cases, regional and remote circular economies, circular economy practices, and regeneration.
ENVIRO 2024 will take place at the Brisbane Conference and Exhibition Centre on 26–27 June 2024. More information, including the full program, is available here.
Registrations close on Friday, 14 June 2024.
