WASTE & RECYCLING
New research hub to tackle global waste crisis A major new Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research Hub, led by RMIT University, will focus on reducing landfill waste and transforming reclaimed waste into new materials for use in construction and other manufacturing sectors. Australia’s landfill space is expected to reach capacity by 2025, with roughly 67 million tonnes of waste generated every year, and 30% of that waste going to landfill. The ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transformation of Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy (TREMS) will address the urgent waste crisis in Australia. The new research hub will involve leading scientists, researchers and industrial experts from nine Australian universities and 36 state, industry and international partners.
Professor Sujeeva Setunge.
The TREMS hub will draw from expertise across multiple disciplines including civil, chemical, materials and construction engineering, artificial intelligence, behavioural sciences, environmental procurements and policies and standards. RMIT Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Vice-President Professor Calum Drummond said the Hub would deliver novel solutions for reclaiming Australia’s waste resources and position Australia as a leader in research contributing to a circular economy. “At RMIT we work closely with industry and other partners to tackle complex environmental, economic and social issues,” said Drummond. “We are proud to be leading such a globally significant research hub that will help transformation towards a circular economy and contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.” Minister for Education, the Honourable Dan Tehan announced the $18m collaboration, saying the research hub will undertake research with applications in the real world.
“Our Government is investing in research that will foster strategic partnerships between universitybased researchers and industry organisations, to find practical solutions to challenges facing Australian industry,” Minister Tehan said. TREMS research hub lead, RMIT Professor Sujeeva Setunge said the multi-sector collaboration would focus on holistic solutions to address the waste crisis, co-designed in partnership with stakeholders.
“Our investigations will include changing behaviours, smart designs to minimise waste, optimum processing of waste and converting waste to energy, developing novel materials using recycling and upcycling technologies, and metrics and tools to encourage uptake of new materials and solutions,” she said. “There is currently a material shortage for Australia’s $14bn heavy construction industry, so this research to reclaim waste and transform it into new materials will deliver benefits both economically and environmentally.” Setunge added that she is looking forward to working with local, national and international partners and acknowledged existing long-term collaborations with the Cities of Brimbank, Kingston and Hobsons Bay, as well as the Municipal Association of Victoria. The new hub will focus on ten challenging waste streams: textile waste; biomass; tyres; glass; paper and cardboard; construction and demolition waste; fly ash; plastics; biochar and timber. www.rmit.edu.au
Boeing Australia awarded for carbon fibre recycling program Boeing Aerostructures Australia’s efforts to promote sustainable aerospace manufacturing have been awarded with the 2020 Sustainability Leadership Award from the United States National Association of Manufacturers. The award was in recognition of Boeing Australia’s achievements in the recycling of more than 76 tons of aerospacegrade carbon fibre. The recycling endeavour, achieved in partnership with UK-based ELG Carbon Fibre, saw scrap materials from Boeing manufacturing sites collected and sent to ELG to be treated to remove binding agents. The result of this process is clean material that can then be sold to third parties to make products such as electronic accessories and automotive equipment. “As Australia’s largest aerospace manufacturer, we have a responsibility to our employees and our community to continuously identify ways to minimise environmental impact while we produce state-of-the-art product parts for our commercial programs,” said Jose Garza, Managing Director of Boeing Aerostructures Australia. “The Australian manufacturing environment has experienced some extraordinary challenges and now, more than ever, we need to look to sustainable practices to guide our future.”
The Sustainability Leadership Award recognises what Boeing has done to embrace global processes to achieve several environmental goals by 2025, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25%; water use and solid waste to landfill by 20%; energy use by 10%; and hazardous waste at worksites by 5%. “Boeing is demonstrating that you can be environmentally sustainable in a cost-effective way,” said Bryan Scott, Vice-President of Environment, Health and Safety at Boeing. “We are the largest consumer of aerospace-grade composite, and the only company able to recycle 100% of it.” Boeing Australia designs, tests, certifies and manufactures advanced structures for commercial aeroplanes. As a Tier 1 partner to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner program, Boeing Australia is the sole source supplier of 787 moveable trailing edges, comprising an inboard flap, flaperon, outboard flap and aileron.
AMT OCT/NOV 2020
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