CIRCULAR DISRUPTION: The reality of creating a circular precinct without plastic and zero packaging is not as easy as it sounds. It’s one of the topics that will be discussed at the Circular Disruption Forum on 12 November at Greenhouse in Sydney. See the event page here.
In 2018, Jenni Phillippe, associate, sustainable systems at Aurecon, tried it with her two kids under two.
It took the equivalent of a day a week of soaking, washing and folding nappies.
At the Australian Circular Economy Forum, organised by Circular Australia earlier this year, Philippe said the enterprise made her feel guilty about the carbon emissions she was emitting from driving around to get those products.
“At the time, my dream was to live in a place where you can access everything you need easily, on foot or by bike.
“A place where you can find affordable options that are low carbon, no packaging and no waste produce, a place where you can swap, share, repair, reuse and connect with your local businesses in your community, a place of belonging, where you’re not driving for consumerist activities that are actually meaningless and not really adding much to your life.”
Finally, momentum was building, Phillipe told the forum, pointing to a new precinct guide that lays out the fundamental steps of how to help embed circularity in place.
And it’s far more complex than she could have imagined those years ago.
The report starts with a connection to a place.
This involves understanding the social, economic and environmental uniqueness of that particular place. It outlines how the right tools are needed to bring a precinct to life and deliver benefits for stakeholders, which then attracts the right enablers, partners, investors and growing a community of like minded people.
Finally, there’s the need to measure progress to keep track of the impact being made.
Phillipe moderated a panel that delved further into the topic with specific examples of emerging circular precincts.
Joining Philippe was Andrew Taylor, chief executive of the Regional Circularity Cooperative, who shared his experiences with making the Bega Valley in the NSW south coast circular.
A key motivator for the program, he said, was Rabobank, which helped the group grow from a small local cooperative to a $3.5 billion company.
Even so, the bank reminded the group that it needed to become more circular to “maintain access to capital.”
“This is not a new way of thinking; this has been around for tens of thousands of years in Australia, particularly from our Indigenous cousins,” Taylor said.
And “why not Bega Valley?
“We’re surrounded by forests on three sides, we’ve got the ocean on the other side, and we’ve got fairly diverse sectors across the economy.
“We’re now some part of the way on that journey to become the most circular Valley in Australia (maybe the world).”
Once people come together, there’s “stuff happening”, he said, “and that industrial and social symbiosis starts. We’ve started calling it the Rhizome theory.”
[This is an assemblage that allows connections between any of its constituent elements, regardless of any predefined ordering, structure, or entry point]
“We’ve got 120 school kids come together with 12 stalls of businesses teaching them about the jobs of the future and circularity as part of national science week, it’s about getting the whole community on board to help drive it, not just reliant on government or a corporate or business.”
Victoria
Meanwhile, Luke Wilkinson from Sustainability Victoria said that while there weren’t standalone precinct programs, the government had published Recycling Victoria’s new economy policy, as well as supported precincts through other programs.
Some examples include the Kensington circular precinct developed by the City of Melbourne last year, as well as a recent new precinct that will now be associated with the redeveloped Queen Victoria Market.
Wilkinson also pointed to the council upgrade of the Wyndham Park Community to add circular initiatives such as a repair café, a food and household goods redistribution store and a tool library.
Other projects in the early stages include a materials recovery facility, which will incorporate circular operations.
Regional precincts
The opportunity for regional precincts was to support circular economy networks in the area to set the groundwork.
“Whether it’s federal, state or local government, they won’t always have available grants to support the development of precincts, but there is still a great opportunity to support human capital around the networks that occur in a community of place, and that’s what we’re seeing in Victoria now,” Wilkinson said
“My learning is that, really, put effort and invest effort in terms of capturing what is already happening in the circularity space…because there’s a lot already happening, and the power of stories cannot be underestimated.
The barriers
Meanwhile, the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region in New South Wales was at an “emerging stage” of establishing a circular precinct, having organised initial discussions with key stakeholders, said David Low of Wollongong Council.
“It would be fair to say we are trying to understand the problem, what our roles are and where we’re headed. That involves a bit of letting go of historical practices from a council perspective and bringing in a new way of thinking and doing things.”
There were already success stories with the council’s partnership with SOILCO, which processes food organics and garden organics at its composting facilities, establishing a “de facto precinct.”
But there was still a long way to go, Low said.