Transitioning WA to a circular economy
Managing waste is an essential service, but some buildings are not designed appropriately to accommodate a circular economy.
Click here to read full article.Categories for Latest News
Encycle Consulting on LinkedIn: #green #renewableenergy #carbon #wamuseum
This week Encycle Consulting Director, Jenny Campbell, and Built Environment Manager, Kylie Howarth, attended the Green Building Council of Australia’s #Green Building Day.
Click here to read full post.Legislative changes to waste in WA
With the drive to net zero and reducing emissions to the environment, we are seeing new and amended waste legislation, guidelines and policies being implemented in Western Australia.
Waste data – getting the numbers right
There is waste data and there is waste data. Good quality waste data is required by organisations aiming to achieve waste minimisation and recovery targets.
Recycling – a last ‘re-sort’ in a circular economy
Many of us want to do ‘the right thing’ and recycle. But it isn’t always easy. Who isn’t confused about what can and can’t go in the recycling bin at home?
Why good directors manage risks and costs associated with waste
When it comes to managing waste, until recently, most businesses had an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach.
What Does Waste Have To Do With Climate Science?
When we look at a bin full of waste we see the stuff, the rubbish. Maybe we see a pile of old furniture on the verge, a bag full of bottles and coffee cups in the food court, or a skip on a driveway stacked with ripped out plasterboard and an old sink.
What we don’t see is the energy and resources that went into making the products we buy and ultimately throw away. Everything we buy started out life as a resource: mined minerals/metals, farmed vegetation, extracted oil. The original resources have been extracted, treated with chemicals and had other materials added to them until they form the product. The materials collectively may have travelled many thousands of kilometres around the world at each stage in the process until they were packaged and transported to a shop or warehouse and then to your home.
All of the extraction, processing, manufacturing and transport uses energy. Often, a LOT of energy. According to a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 45% of global emissions relate to the production of consumer goods.
When we throw those resources into landfill, we throw away both the resources and the embodied energy.
The climate impact story doesn’t stop with lost energy and resources. When organic matter (food, paper, fabrics, etc.) break down in the absence of air, the ‘anaerobic decomposition’ creates a gas that is rich in methane. Methane gas has over 25 times the global warming impact of carbon dioxide. In fact, food waste is identified by the United Nations as a key factor contributing to climate change.
Solving waste problems is more than just litter and landfills. Tackling waste at source is a major part of the solution to the climate crisis.
Encycle’s Busiest Year
We are proud to report that in 2021 Encycle had the busiest year on record! Issues related to waste have gained much more traction since we started our business in 2008. Back then, waste was never on the agenda of design team meetings, but now it’s one of the first items on the list because it is a major element in the planning of a building or precinct.
Encycle was involved in some amazing projects throughout Australia and extended the business to include assistance with waste licensing and approval. We have also broadened our national and state government research and policy work, particularly in the circular economy. We are heartened that national government is so engaged with environmental issues surrounding waste.
Over the past year we have been lucky to steadily gain more fantastic consultants who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to enhance our wonderful team.
Save Money And Resources: Think Circular
When you stop to think about it, waste is really the symptom of inefficiency. In Australia, we generate 74 million tonnes of waste per year[1]. These are wasted resources that will not find their way back into the economy.
We are so used to waste being an inevitable part of almost every human activity we don’t often stop to wonder if we could be doing things smarter, cleaner, more efficiently and ultimately, better.
The circular economy works by designing our production systems with the full life cycle in mind. We can design products to be delivered such that the resources can be recovered and looped back into being used again at an equivalent or higher value purpose. The three main principles are:
- Eliminate waste and pollution
- Circulate products and materials (at their highest value)
- Regenerate nature
The circular economy is set to play a big part in changing the way we operate, for the way we design our buildings and run our everyday lives. Learn more about what the Australian Government is doing about circular economy here:
[1] PwC analysis based on Global Footprint Network and National Waste Report 2020.
