One Year On
Given that we’re almost at the end of our first year this is a good time to summarise where we’ve got to, and some next steps.
In December 2022 a community meeting was held at the University of Wollongong’s innovation campus to discuss the collapse of REDcycle and implications for the Illawarra. The number of people who attended, both in person and online, and the lively discussion that took place, demonstrated a high level of concern in the community about the environmental impacts of plastics. One of the outcomes of that meeting was the formation of our group, now called Circular Plastics Illawarra.
Since that time our group has met almost monthly at UOW’s innovation campus. We have a supporter list that includes concerned citizens and professionals with interests in plastics, circular economy, sustainability, recycling, packaging design, citizen science and much more.
Our first year has focused on research, engagement with organisations already actively engaged in plastics circularity, and working out how we can best support and accelerate action in the Illawarra. Here are some highlights:
A research roundtable with 15 academics at UOW to learn about their work in plastics and sustainability and how we could collaborate
A meeting with Bluescope to learn about their trial to replace a small percentage of coke with waste plastics
Two tours of the Shoalhaven resource recovery centre at West Nowra, including the MICROfactorie and their other plastics recycling initiatives
Meetings with Wollongong City Council and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation
Several government submissions including:
to the Australian Government’s Plastic Pollution Inquiry (Nov ‘22)
to the Federal Environment Minister on problems associated with EPS waffle pod litter (July ’23)
to Wollongong Council on their draft Climate Change Mitigation Plan including how waste reduction, reuse and recycling can help reduce emissions (Oct ’23)
Engagement with local members of Parliament to introduce our group and outline our vision for plastics circularity and to seek their support
Development of the Circular Plastics Illawarra website
A Circular Plastics Illawarra page on LinkedIn to share our activities and other local initiatives
So that’s not bad for a group of volunteers in their first year of operation!
A big thank you to everyone who has participated in our meetings, helped with projects, or just provided us with encouragement and support through the year.