Finalists announced for Victorian Premier's Sustainability Awards 2022

A company changing the way the world thinks about building materials, an online marketplace to trade waste and mushroom-based packaging are among the finalists in the 2022 Premier’s Sustainability Awards.

This year’s awards reflect the current focus of sustainability activity in Victoria and align with global best practice. An industry leader award and community champion award is up for grabs in each of six categories. Award winners will be announced at an in-person ceremony on 20 September.

Finalists for the Circular Economy Innovation – Industry Leader award are:

Reground, is a circular alternative to traditional waste collection models that redirects ground coffee waste for reuse in the local community. Reground connects cafes, coffee roasters and officers with the community and showcases the many ways to use waste as a resource.

The Circular Greater Bendigo project provides an example of what local councils can achieve if they push to transition their region to a circular economy. Through this project, the City of Greater Bendigo has started to identify, develop and implement a number of circular economy and resource management solutions to handle, reprocess and recirculate end-of-life material resources.

Durra Panel is changing the way the world thinks about building materials, offering a construction material with a chemical-free biomass core made entirely out of reclaimed wheat straw. The panel is used as a wall and ceiling lining. Using a waste resource to produce a building material that is 100 per cent biodegradable mimics the natural carbon cycle and makes sustainability its greatest asset.

Ecologiq is a Victorian Government initiative to integrate recycled and reused materials across the state’s $80 billion Big Build program and ensure the use of such materials is part of business-as-usual activities. A key driver of this change is the Recycled First policy that requires contractors delivering Victorian transport projects to optimise their use of recycled and reused materials.

Circular Economy Innovation – Community Champion finalists:

Precious Plastic Melbourne is designing and producing small-scale recycling equipment to manufacture functional products and create a valuable resource from what was once considered waste.

Biotech start-up Fungi Solutions uses fungi to recycle and transform organic waste into sustainable circular packaging solutions. After use, the mushroom-based packaging can be returned to the earth in the form of compost, improving soil health.

EcoSouLife, produces tableware out of natural waste, offering guilt-free, disposable and reusable alternatives to plastic, foams and metals.

Advisory System for Processing Information and Resource Exchange (ASPIRE) has created an online marketplace offering businesses the opportunity to trade their waste as a resource. Using this platform, businesses can upload their waste or excess resources and be matched with other local businesses in need of those materials.

Waste and Litter Reduction – Industry Leader finalists:

Australian New Zealand Recycling Platform has set out to revolutionise Victoria’s waste recovery movement by building a mobile e-waste recycling factory.

The City of Greater Geelong has embarked on an intensive bin inspection program to cut contamination in kerbside recycling bins and combat community confusion. Over seven months, teams examined 291,377 recycling bins. The project resulted in a significant fall in contamination rates, saving tonnes of recycling from landfill.

OzHarvest has become a leading food rescue organisation on a mission to stop good food from going to waste and delivering it to charities that help feed people in need. The OzHarvest yellow vans are out and about in communities every day, collecting quality surplus food from a network of donors, including supermarkets, cafes, delis, restaurants, corporate kitchens, airlines, hotels and other food businesses.

Rock Posters has been creating street posters for the arts and entertainment sector since 1986. Over the past two years, it has been experimenting with paper and ink to decrease landfill waste, reduce emissions and help educate its client base about the environmental value of a new product they have named “Green Paper”. This product uses post-consumer waste that is re-made into paper again.

Waste and Litter Reduction – Community Champion finalists:

The Brighton Sea Scouts are training and empowering its members to monitor for microplastics across Port Phillip Bay catchments. This two-year research project set out to monitor and help combat the threat of microplastic pollution to aquatic wildlife by collecting and recording data and developing a litter database.

The Anglesea Resale Shed aims to save non-organic waste from landfill and promote benefits of the circular economy. Each year, 20 local community groups and about 500 volunteers are engaged to manage the operation of the shed.

BeachPatrol has developed the LitterStopper app to help people amplify their clean-up efforts, providing a quick and simple way to enter data from litter collections. Data is then stored and displayed on the LitterStopper website and sent to the new LitterWatch portal to assist the state government collect data, identify patterns and inform future policy on pollution.

For more information, visit: www.sustainability.vic.gov.au