circular economy

MOVING TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

MAKING WASTE A RESOURCE

November 2024

New business models that generate zero waste have been the subject of TED Talks for years, and momentum is now building closer to home. The Queensland Government recently chose Townsville as a site for a circular economy support hub for businesses, and introduced a Circular Economy Investment Program. And all Australian environment ministers have agreed to work with the private sector to design out waste and pollution, keep materials in use for as long as possible and foster markets that achieve a circular economy by 2030.

Natural resources are finite – if we use them continuously we’ll eventually exhaust them. But our traditional, or linear, economic systems involve a lot of waste. We often take a resource, turn it into a product and discard what’s not used. Our landfills are bulging and it also means businesses are not optimising the value, and potential profit, of the resources being used.

What is a ‘circular economy’?

A ‘circular economy’ is a system which reduces waste and regenerates nature. The emphasis is on more recycling, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and remanufacturing, producing less waste in the first place and maximising the value of precious resources. It includes actions like developing by-products and sharing or leasing materials to extend their lifecycle. In other words, we are going back to ‘waste not, want not’ and adding innovation.

FNQ Smart Green Economy Project

Locally, a circular economy is one of the key goals of the FNQ Smart Green Economy project, supported by Cairns Regional Council, Terrain NRM, Wet Tropics Management Authority, James Cook University, CQ University and government agencies. Other businesses and councils are also exploring ways to move to circular economy principles.

The Wet Tropics economy is underpinned by its natural resources, but they’re under pressure. Many people visit and live in this region because of its amazing natural environment, and our agricultural sector is reliant on healthy natural capital. It makes sense for us to be at the leading edge in the transition to regenerative economic models – models that treat ‘waste’ as a resource and allow innovative thinking about how we can create new opportunities and value from it.

Local examples

A good local example is the way Tablelands banana farmers Rob and Krista Watkins have turned their waste bananas into a range of other products, creating an extra revenue stream for themselves (Natural Evolution Foods) and for other growers as suppliers. The Watkins zoned in on the tonnes of banana going to waste each week because some bananas, while they are perfectly good for eating, are considered too big, too straight, too bendy or too blemished for supermarket shelves. They began producing gluten-free ‘banana flour’ and built up to the world’s first pharmaceutical-grade banana flour factory. Now they also produce banana-based health and beauty products.

Using coffee waste

Another example is using coffee waste. About six million tonnes of spent ground coffee (the leftovers when a coffee bean is ground and discarded) ends up in landfills around the world every year. In some places, this is being used for mushroom farming, or recycled into compost by commercial centres supplying regenerative farmers and domestic gardeners. City buses are powered by a biofuel partly made from coffee oil in London. And a smaller-scale local example is a Wet Tropics grazier using a café’s waste coffee grounds to feed a worm farm creating organic fertiliser for pastures.

Huge opportunities for our region…

Imagine if every business and economic activity in this region improved, rather than depleted, the health and resilience of our natural assets. Creating a circular economy would bring huge opportunities to our region, enabling us to be competitive and resilient while also replenishing the rich and diverse environment we live in.