Researchers and representatives from industry will present at the NSW Smart Sensing Network’s Creating Value from Waste: Profits not Costs event on March 11 as part of Climate Action Week.

How can businesses make a profit from plastic, wastewater and food scraps?

The event will highlight innovative research, technologies, and businesses, which have made a profit from waste, including plastic, wastewater and food.

Some of the innovative technologies and research which will be presented at the event include:

3D printed plastic homes

An international team involving the University of Wollongong is recycling plastic to create functional home goods.

Senior Lecturer in Structural Engineering in the School of Civil, Mining, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Wollongong, Dr Aziz Ahmed, will discuss his role in the project.

The team is creating a scalable 3D printing-based manufacturing system which can make goods from plastic waste onsite and leave a net zero footprint.

It’s hoped the project will result in the development of a robust, system-level template which can be adapted and deployed around the world and be used in the creation of sustainable furnished homes which have a significant socio-economic impact.

Wastewater processing inspired by plants

Plants are inspiring researchers to develop new techniques which can be used to extract valuable minerals, metals and nutrients from wastewater.

ANU Plant Scientist Professor Caitlin Byrt is part of a team which is adapting plant membrane separation mechanisms so they can be embedded in wastewater recycling technologies.

This allows the harvesting, recycling and reuse of valuable resources such as phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and precious metals from liquid wastes, and could benefit industries such as agriculture, aquaculture, mining and desalination.

Food circularity

Associate Professor in Sustainability Engineering at Western Sydney University, Dr Dharma Hagare, will describe his team’s work in upcycling food waste into animal feed and liquid fertiliser.

A/Prof. Hagare is also involved in the start-up Food Recycle International, which has partnered with large private enterprises to commercialise food waste streams around Australia.

Value in organic waste

The Upper Creek Advanced Water Recycling Centre in Kemps Creek is set to become a circular economy hub, which could divert up to 30,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfills per year by 2030. 

Research Director at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), Dr Melita Jazbec, says the centre – which is being built by Sydney Water – will use cutting-edge technology to treat wastewater, process organic waste, and generate recycled water while significantly reducing landfill waste and emissions.

A 2022 report by the ISF highlighted the economic and environmental benefits of co-digestion, estimating that by 2036, expanding the program across Western Parkland City could divert 165,000 tonnes of waste annually, cut emissions by 70,000 tonnes, and generate enough electricity to power 120,000 homes.

Agricultural waste

Ethanol Technologies (Ethtec) is a North Queensland based company who have been working with staff at the University of Newcastle thanks to funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

The team has developed an environmentally sustainable process to produce biofuels and other renewable chemicals from crop and forestry waste.  

Chief Microbiologist of Ethtec, Professor Peter Lewis, will discuss the spinout’s $48m demonstration facility at Muswellbrook which uses a revolutionary fuel technology to convert multiple agricultural waste streams into valuable biofuel and green chemical products.

He will discuss how University of Newcastle biotechnology research is essential for this process.

Nanomaterials from waste

Exploration led by ANU researchers has found waste products can be transformed into high-value materials using thermochemical and plasma-based methods, with each technology offering distinct economic and efficiency trade-offs.

ANU Research Fellow Dr Karthika Prasad will discuss how these approaches can convert raw and waste biomass into valuable products for environmental, energy, optoelectronic, and biomedical applications.

The Creating Value from Waste event will be held from 9am to11am at the Sydney Startup Hub on Tuesday 11 March. Register now.

Turning trash into treasure: NSSN event to showcase innovations in waste-to-profit technologies