Record crowds have passed through the doors for day one of 2024 Waste Expo Australia, delivering a diverse range of ideas, solutions and speakers. All the conference sessions have been well attended with most having standing room only.
Nina Taylor, Member for Albert Park, kicked off proceedings with an update of Victoria’s roadmap to a sustainable and thriving circular economy.
“The Victorian Government is proud of the role we’re playing in advancing projects in resource recovery,” Taylor said.
“We’re turning challenges in the waste sector into opportunities with investment in recycling infrastructure.”
Taylor highlighted the success of the state’s Container Deposit Scheme, which has had 960 million containers returned and recycled in the past year, creating new clean material for recycling, reducing litter, and providing an economic boost to the state.
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New household waste and recycling systems are improving recycling rates across the state. So far 57 councils have adopted Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) services and 36 have implemented a glass only service – ensuring the four-stream waste system is on track to be implemented by July 2027.
The government has also provided $120 million funding for infrastructure to support the state’s ambition to recovery 80 per cent of waste by 2030.
“The shift to a sustainable and thriving economy is on the way,” Taylor said.
A constant stream of visitors roved the show floor, with more than 100 local and international suppliers, while it was standing room only at panel sessions across four streams.
Highlights of day one included an in-depth look at the challenges facing waste-to-energy in Australia as the first facilities come online in Western Australia, how to harness recycled content in construction projects and the latest in solar panel recycling.
There was also some formative discussion on the unique challenges of waste and resource recovery in rural areas and how collaboration will play a key role in improving results.
The overall theme of Waste Expo Australia was one of emerging opportunities, with a lot of great minds developing new ideas.