Impact Priority 2

Hub leader Prof Veena Sahajwalla AO has contributed to reporting on circular economy solutions for illegal tyre dumping. 

The Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub held a Science Showcase for some research stakeholder groups, including the Australian Government Environment Department and key research end users. 

Hub leader Prof Veena Sahajwalla AO has taken part in the Building Circular Economies: Innovation, Technology and Regional Leadership webinar, held by the Regional Australia Institute. 

The Hub is supporting action on ghost nets and marine debris that washes up on beaches in the Gulf of Carpentaria. 

Hub researchers are working with councils and communities in Far North Queensland to translate circular economy science into practical waste solutions for regional and remote Australia. 

Regional councils and government agencies across the New England and North West NSW areas are exploring how fit-for-purpose recycling technologies could help respond to growing waste management pressures while supporting local employment and regio

Hub researchers were celebrated for their contribution to microplastics research at the Microplastics in Focus Conference.

A new study from the Hub’s Understanding Microplastics project team offers fresh insight into how common household plastics fragment into microplastics, and what this means for environmental and human exposure.

Researchers from the Hub’s Understanding Microplastics project and collaborators from Ocean Protect recently presented their work at the Franc.2025 conference in the Hunter Valley. 

The Hub leader recently joined national and regional leaders at the Regional Australia Institute’s Regions Rising National Summit 2025 in Canberra last month. 

Hub leader Prof Veena Sahajwalla AO has given an address to the National Press Club of Australia titled "The Hidden Value in Our Rubbish: Communities, the Environment, and the Science of Remanufacturing."

Hub leader Prof Veena Sahajwalla AO has called on policymakers, industry and communities to embrace a new vision for Australia’s waste in her National Press Club address in Canberra yesterday.

The Hub’s Impact Priority 2 – Plastic and Waste Materials team recently contributed to the UNSW Sustainability Showcase at NSW Parliament House.

Hub researcher Heriyanto presented at the TEFMA25 conference on Impact Priority 2: Plastic and waste materials research. 

Hub leader Veena Sahajwalla AO has spoken to the Infrastructure Connections podcast about circular innovation, remanufacturing from waste materials and micro-recycling.

Ku-ring-gai Council and AUSMAP (Australian Microplastic Assessment Project) have visited UNSW labs as part of the Hub's synthetic grass microplastics project.  

Hub leader, Prof Veena Sahajwalla AO, has encouraged Australians to think about the durability and end-of-life destination of

Hub leader Prof Veena Sahajwalla AO won the Excellence in Sustainable Innovation (Industrial) Award at the 2025 Vogue Codes Summit.