How good would it be if we could recycle everything to create a "circular economies"?
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Well, the audience of about 90 people who attended University of NSW's Professor Veena Sahajwalla's "Waste As a Resource" presentation at the Armidale Bowling Club on Thursday evening got to take a look into such a world.
Prof. Sahajwalla is one of Australia's top scientists, an entrepreneur and a media personality, who provided an insight into her own research, and the modern, practical scientific and engineering capabilities that optimise the reuse the many disposable items of our throwaway culture.
Leader of the University of NSW's Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology, she scientifically repurposes common waste items using prototype technology.
Her team turned old clothing and textiles into high-end composite building products, such as flat panels with a wood veneer or ceramic-style finishes.
HIGH QUALITY BUILDS MARKET DEMAND
A related research exercise converted used glass into high-quality ceramics, suitable for benchtops and kitchen and bathroom tiles in all sorts of sizes, colours and finishes.
"When we talk about circular economy, the one part in there is viability of whatever you make," she said.
"If you make something that is of good quality, it performs well and naturally the market is going to be created for a quality product, not for a sub-standard product.
Prof. Sahajwalla said it was now more about "repurposing" recycled material.
"It's not just about turning it back into the same product," she said.
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"We know you can retread tyres, but there is a limit to how many times you can do that without compromising safety. So, why would you do that?" she said.
In 2014, Prof. Sahajwalla's "green steel" technology (or Polymer Injection Technology) substituted up to 30 per cent of coke with rubber tyres during the manufacturing process.
In Australia, it prevented more than two million tyres from ending up in landfill after OneSteel adopted the technology in its Sydney and Melbourne facilities.
Her presentation on Thursday evening was pure science and business.
WHERE OUR IMAGINATIONS CAN RUN WILD
UNE's Dr Lou Conway said Prof. Sahajwalla was a perfect partner for UNE and its business incubator.
"For us we are always looking at where the next set of business opportunities are going to come from," she said.
"How we look at waste streams and turn them into high value products is actually a huge startup opportunity.
"What I identify is, imagine if our existing businesses shared data and could actually identify waste streams, and then collaborate and turn into a high value product."
Dr Conway said one of the most exciting things demonstrated by Prof. Sahajwalla was micro factories that cost only $250,000.
"How can we create a micro factory to be put in a regional area," she said.
"But they do mean you can have a number of collaborators within a region.
"It's the kind of device that could handle different waste streams and turn them into high value products, whether that be benchtops for the kitchens or sound baffling for buildings. That's where our imaginations can really run wild."