Unlike a lot of young professionals featured in Inside Waste, Gopika Venugopal was interested in the waste industry from an early age. During her formative years, Gopika was raised by her grandmother who was a “strict, no-waste champion”, she said.
“There would be barely any food waste in the house,” said Venugopal. “She ensured that we only bought things that we needed. While shopping, she encouraged us to take our time and carefully consider whether something was necessary. When it came to clothing, she made sure we altered them to fit, and wore them for as long as possible. Once we no longer needed them, she ensured they were donated to charity.”
When at university studying (Bachelor of Science – Chemical Engineering, and Master of Engineering (Professional) – Environmental Engineering), her two favourite classes were Cleaner Production for a Circular Economy and Solid Waste Management. Before taking those courses, Venugopal had not realised just how much opportunity existed in navigating the intricacy and complexity of the waste industry on a day-to-day level.
“I was very fortunate, because once I graduated, I knew I wanted to work in this space, but I didn’t know what it would look like,” she said. “One of the first jobs that came up was for a graduate waste engineer, which ended up being my first role.
“During that time, I gained extensive knowledge about landfill design and engineering, as well as operational and management planning for landfills. I also got the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks supervising the construction of a new cell at a landfill site. That’s an experience I’ll never forget.”
It’s not that Venugopal didn’t consider other careers; waste management simply captured her interest the most. She was determined to explore as many careers and industries as possible before deciding on her path. She gained experience in wastewater engineering, paint manufacturing, and health and safety within the oil and gas industry. Toward the end of her master’s degree, she also worked with a real estate developer, devising green infrastructure solutions for its latest development project.
Currently, Venugopal works at Arcadis as an environmental consultant. Like many roles in this field, her work is both varied and challenging, with her responsibilities depending on the specific project she is involved in.
As part of Arcadis’ Circular Economy and Waste Advisory Team, Venugopal contributes to a range of capabilities, including waste strategy and implementation, infrastructure technology assessments, material flow analytics, and risk management. She noted that some projects involve many moving parts, and she enjoys the dynamic nature and variety of tasks
they bring.
“I enjoy data analytics and modelling,” she said. “There are two different approaches you can take on a data project. The first is like building a Lego tower, and the second is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. In both cases, all you have to go on is have a vision of what you want the final product to look like.
“With the Lego tower analogy, you start with a strong foundation made up of reliable, direct, and accurate information from a primary data source. Then, you add the right blocks of secondary data to build your tower.”
She provided an example where, at the state level, she needed to determine how much of the state’s municipal solid waste (MSW) consisted of
organic materials.
With the jigsaw puzzle analogy, there are situations where no primary data is available. She explained that data sources are first organised based on clear associations – similar to sorting the edge pieces and middle pieces of a puzzle – and the challenge lies in figuring out how to bring everything together. For example, in cases where information is not directly measured or reported, proxy or parallel data from other states, as well as national or international sources, might be used to extract insights. This approach ensures the final outcome is both reliable and useful for the client.
Venugopal admits it can be challenging, but it’s also a creative process, which she loves.
“One particularly interesting project involved developing a framework to assess risks in the waste service network for the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils,” she said. “We created a digital platform to evaluate risks in their system across multiple disaster scenarios, covering aspects like collection, transport, transfer, and final destination. The value of this platform was that it allowed them to analyse their current situation and identify potential risks stemming from these services. It also helped them prepare for future disaster scenarios, including industry hazards, policy impacts, and natural disasters.”
As for the future of the industry, Venugopal says there are the obvious issues that need addressing including challenges around securing sufficient landfill airspace for future needs, contamination in various recycling streams, and emerging problematic waste issues, such as PFAS/PFOS. She emphasises that proactively collecting data is crucial to meeting the future needs of the resource recovery industry.
“The availability and accessibility of material data are critical for assessing our current situation and planning for the future,” she said. “I find this particularly interesting, especially as discussions around circular economy grows and we move toward building a system that supports it.”
She also said that with the release of the ISO 59004:2024 standard, there is a framework for what the performance of a circular economy should look like and how to measure it.
“The ISO standards not only define a circular economy in a foundational manner, but, more importantly, how we can measure it,” said Venugopal. “This can be relevant for any system, process, or business. You can even execute these calculations at a state level if you really tried. You can have all this data, but that can only happen when we know what we’re trying to measure.”
She cites an example of another project she has worked on for a recycler. The Arcadis team audited the facility to learn what was coming in and going out. The company wanted to define what circularity meant for the business.
“We established a relevant Circular Economy outcome that they could achieve,” she said. “We then created a unique metric/measurement that they could employ to get a usable number. They ended up with a circularity rate, which then helped them communicate and influence their upstream and downstream stakeholders on how they operate.”
Venugopal doesn’t see any changes in her career path within waste and resource recovery.
“Through all these experiences, I found an area of work with a purpose that truly resonated with me,” she said. “While it wasn’t a straightforward path, I think I simply followed what felt right. I’m learning more about my strengths and areas for improvement, what I enjoy and what I don’t enjoy as much, and I continue to steer myself toward the right path.”