Conference Day Two – Thursday 28 June
08:30 | Welcome coffee
08:50 | Opening remarks from the Chair
Brooke Donnelly, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation
09:00 | OPENING KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Exploring the opportunities and challenges of waste recovery, recycling and prevention in Australia
- Identifying the need to improve resource recovery on a national scale
- Understanding the current waste recovery and recycling sector, and the need to forge new markets
- Presenting the tools to develop an integrated statewide waste and resource recovery system on a state level
Shannon Smyth, Acting Director Resource Recovery, Sustainability Victoria
09:30 | CASE STUDY: Waste-to-energy - an essential part of strategic waste management – learn more from the Kwinana Waste-to-Energy facility
- Understanding the responsibility of local governments in waste recovery and prevention
- Identifying the challenges faced by municipalities to shift from end-of-pipe solutions
- Questioning how local waste management systems can be designed to encourage waste reduction in households
Carol Adams, Mayor, City of Kwinana
LEARN HOW TO TRANSFORM WASTE TO WEALTH
09:45 | The perspective of local councils regarding waste recovery and prevention
- Exploring the expected outcomes of a waste-to-energy facility for local councils
- Identifying the challenges faced to implement such facility in regard to the financial investment, regulations, public opinion and infrastructures
- Understanding the role of waste-to-energy in sustainable waste management
- Highlighting the opportunities and the disadvantages of such facilities on a microlevel
Darrell Monteiro, Manager Environmental Health, City of Kwinana
10:00 | CASE STUDY: From Switzerland to Taronga - going beyond standard resource recovery strategies
- Understanding waste management and resource recovery strategies in Switzerland
- How can Australia learn from Switzerland and implement better waste strategies
- Identifying the challenges and constraints around resource recovery and waste minimization in large facilities such as Taronga
- Highlighting the importance of partnering with key stakeholders to deliver positive outcomes
Anne Karin Kehlhofer, Manager, Environmental Sustainability, Taronga Conservation Society Australia
10:30 | Morning Tea
RECOVERING VALUE FROM ORGANIC WASTE USING DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
11:00 | Food waste – largest stream, biggest impact, greatest opportunities
- Identifying the benefits of reducing the quantity of organics going to landfills
- Learning about the NSW Government’s $100 million waste levy investment into organics recovery and its consequences
- Exploring the strategies to deviate waste from landfill from educating for avoidance to supporting new markets
Sian McGhie, Senior Project Manager Local Government, NSW Environment Protection Authority
11:30 | CASE STUDY: Turning organic waste into energy at Sydney Water
- Exploring how food waste and sewage sludge can help reduce the plant's power bill
- Highlighting the power of business cooperation in recovering organic waste
- Identifying the challenges faced by Sydney Water during and after the process
- Capturing the strong return on investment of such a strategic facility
Philip Woods, Energy Manager, Sydney Water
12:00 | CASE STUDY: How Richgro Managing produces energy and much more by closing the loop on organics recycling through the use of Anaerobic Digestion
- The innovative approach of Richgro Bioenergy Plant
- Identifying the business strategy behind the company’s waste management practices
- Getting every last penny out of organic waste by producing biofertilizer, electricity and heat
- Exploring the challenges and opportunities of the plant before and after development
Tim Richards, Operations Director, Richgro Garden Products
12:30 | PANEL DISCUSSION: What factors should you consider when deciding whether or not to jump into waste-to-energy?
- Why is waste-to-energy controversial?
- How efficient are waste-to-energy plants?
- What are the limitations of these strategies?
Moderator:
Brooke Donnelly, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation
Panellists:
Darrell Monteiro, Manager Environmental Health, City of Kwinana
Nick Florin, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Ron Wainberg, Technical Director, MRA Consulting Group
13:10 | Networking lunch
STIMULATING RECYCLING IN AUSTRALIA - A FEASIBLE BUT NEVERTHELESS TITANIC TASK
14:10 | Reimagining Recycling in Australia to increase its productivity
- Detailing contemporary Australian recycling and future trends
- Shifting from supply-based recycling to demand-based recycling
- Identifying the barriers and drivers, and learning how to best address them
- Developing the political, social and economic trade-offs needed to stimulate recycle
Peter Shmigel, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Council of Recycling
14:30 | Pilots and collaborators – taking the ‘squiggle’ out of developing recycling solutions
- Learning how to implement concrete and effective recycling solutions in organisations
- Understanding the importance of collaboration between industries, organisations and governments in developing recycle plans
- Learning how to take advantage of the current situation and maximise the chance of success
- Exploring the multiple possibilities of PVC recycling in Australia
Helen Millicer, Recycling Projects Manager, Vinyl Council of Australia
14:50 | How can we stimulate correct recycling behaviour in Australia
- Capturing the importance of changing consumption habits and waste practices in households and businesses
- Debating the complexity of modifying habits society-wide and stimulating a shift toward a sustainable future
- Highlighting the strategies governments and organisations can implement to change recycling behaviour
- Understanding that recycling behaviour can also be changed in organisations and highlighting the benefits for doing so
Jenni Downes, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
15:10 | Q&A SESSION
Peter Shmigel, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Council of Recycling
Helen Millicer, Recycling Projects Manager, Vinyl Council of Australia
Jenni Downes, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
15:40 | Afternoon tea
TAKE WASTE AND CREATE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
16:10 | CASE STUDY: How to operate a successful business based on recycled materials
- Understanding how Dresden associates sustainability and prolific business practices
- Optimising plastic waste to create new opportunities
- Learning how to chase plastic waste in the production process as well as in the external environment
- Identifying the key elements needed to export Dresden’s strategy to other companies and sectors
Jason McDermott, Co-founder, Dresden Optics
16:40 | PANEL DISCUSSION: What is the future of the recycling industry in Australia?
- Defining where Australia is going with its current recycling practices
- Understanding the benefits of stimulating the recycling industry
- Identifying where the country should aim to be in few years
- Learning what can be done to stimulate change
Panel Moderator:
Kate Harris, Chief Executive Officer, Good Environmental Choice Australia
Panellists:
Jason McDermott, Co-founder, Dresden Optics
Jenni Downes, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Sandor G. Lukacs de Pereny, PHD Candidate, University of New South Wales
17:20 | Closing remarks from the chair
17:30 | End of Day Two and close of conference