Sustainability Victoria expands Buy Recycled service

Sustainability Victoria’s Buy Recycled service is expanding to enable councils to adopt products and services with circular attributes and long-term circular outcomes, as well as recycled content.

The new Buy Circular Service supports local governments to consider circular aspects of products including recycled and reused materials, materials efficiency and design for disassembly while encouraging the adoption of circular economy (CE) principles in procurement decisions for infrastructure, landscaping, parks and garden projects.

Additionally, the Buy Circular Service will focus on supporting suppliers to consider circular attributes of their products and service models and connecting them with local government buyers to better understand procurement processes and requirements. It will also highlight existing suppliers with circular solutions.

Buy Recycled, launched in 2022, provides tools and resources to upskill officers, build capability within councils and increase confidence to ensure recycled products are considered at each stage of the procurement cycle.

Since starting the program, Sustainability Victoria has engaged with 96 per cent of councils, building awareness around the need for the inclusion of sustainability considerations within procurement documentation and has supported councils to make these updates.

Matt Genever, Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability Victoria, said the Buy Recycled Service has equipped councils with the skills to make sustainable procurement a part of their core operations.

“The Buy Circular Service expands on the success of Buy Recycled and empowers councils to build their capability in circular procurement,” said Genever.

“Councils have significant buying power and play a critical role in growing markets for circular products and materials, including recycled products.

“The Buy Circular Service is aimed at closing the gap between recycling, design and manufacturing while driving the uptake of products with circular attributes and models.”

The service will build on the existing network of local governments and focus on four key pillars:

Building government confidence in circular products and services
Improving procurement processes and documentation in government to drive procurement of circular products and services
Encouraging knowledge sharing and networking among government
Enabling suppliers of recycled materials and products to consider circular models of service or promote their already existing circular models

The Buy Recycled Service was supported by 23 champions from 21 councils who were selected for their exceptional leadership in promoting sustainable procurement within their councils.

The new service is building on the success of this element, appointing 44 champions from 30 councils across Victoria to support knowledge sharing and networking among local governments.

The new champions include council representatives from engineering, procurement, urban design, economic development, circular economy, sustainability and waste and recycling.

Kavinga Karunasekara, Sustainability Projects Officer, Wellington Shire Council said he hoped to expand his knowledge in the industry.

“By joining this program, I hope to gain valuable skills in sustainable design and resource management from like-minded experts and have the opportunity to lead and influence others towards adopting CE practices,” said Karunasekara.

Faina Levin, CE Strategic Lead, City of Boroondara, is also a Buy Circular Champion.

Levin completed a Municipal Engineering Foundation Victoria study tour to research how the circular economy is being integrated in public infrastructure projects. She said being a champion would provide the opportunity to continuously exchange knowledge and see how different learnings may apply in her organisation.

“Councils are doing some awesome things in Victoria and having access to case studies that are relevant and relatable is crucial to inspiring the ‘how’ of implementing an initiative,” Levin said.

“I want to look at how to embed circularity across all functions and bridge the gap between myself as a ‘transition broker’ for a CE economy and those in different areas of council.”

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