Outside the square, inside the circle, but all together in Adelaide

3 June 2020

The South Australian Waste and Resource Recovery (WARR) Conference is on, no, not on Zoom (if all goes according to plan), but at the Adelaide Convention Centre in person!

The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) is excited at the prospect of our essential WARR industry coming together at the end of October to share stories, knowledge, insights and more, and to celebrate the resilience of our sector in what has been a challenging 12 months.

Planning for the conference, which will be held on 28 and 29 October 2020, is well underway and this year, the theme is ‘Outside the square, inside the circle’ as together, we forge ahead in transitioning to a sustainable circular economy and building a post-COVID world, one that will include the roll-out of COAG bans, development of on-shore markets for remanufactured and recycled products, and stronger engagement and collaboration with all levels of government.

“Our industry’s prospects are bright - if the events of the past six months have taught us anything, it’s that our sector has an essential role to play in building local economies, boosting local jobs, and protecting community and human health,” WMRR CEO, Ms Gayle Sloan, said.

WMRR is now calling for abstracts for the 2020 SA WARR conferences across a range of topics, including FOGO management, education and behavior change, market and infrastructure development, product stewardship, natural disaster management, innovation in infrastructure and more.

“We look forward to seeing all of you in October, in what will be WMRR’s (and possibly our essential industry’s) first and only in-person conference this year. We will, of course, have alternative delivery methods in place if travel restrictions remain but from the looks of it, it is likely that we will be able to come together for a time of learning and reflection in Adelaide!” Ms Sloan said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For editors

The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) is the national peak body for all stakeholders in the waste and resource recovery industry. We have more than 2,000 members across the nation, representing a broad range of business organisations, the three (3) tiers of government, universities, and NGOs. 

 

Our members are involved in a range of important waste management and resource recovery activities within the Australian economy, including community engagement and education, infrastructure investment and operations, collection, manufacturing of valuable products from resource recovered materials, energy recovery, and responsible management of residual materials.

 

The waste and resource recovery industry is an essential industry for the community and continues to be a significant contributor to Australia’s economy and environment, contributing to Australia through:

 

  • a turnover of over $15 billion per annum;
  • employing 50,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) persons;
  • reducing the pressure to utilise depleted virgin resources;
  • extending the life cycle of manufactured products; and
  • improving industrial ecology.

 

WMRR's priority advocacy areas:

  • Facilitate investment in resource recovery and remanufacturing capacity.
  • Reform state regulatory frameworks to provide long-term certainty for investment in the sector.
  • Streamline and improve consistency and clarity in state regulatory frameworks.
  • Foster a common approach to landfill levies between states, including the reinvestment of at least 50% of funds raised from levies in the sector.
  • Improve responsiveness of regulatory frameworks to manage market adjustments.
  • Improve coordination between state government portfolios within and across state borders with the responsibility for the sector (at first instance, Planning and Environment). 
  • Promote the adoption of sustainable procurement principles and practices to all levels of governments. 
  • Support extended producer responsibility, product stewardship, and polluters-pay principles, and the role of the waste and resource recovery sector within it. 
  • Support the establishment of secondary and end markets for resource recovered materials. 
  • Improve national waste and resource recovery data to enable the identification, recovery, classification, treatment, disposal and monitoring of waste. 
  • Support all actions aimed at fair competition and the creation of a level playing field for all stakeholders. 
  • Foster the recognition of the role of the solid waste industry in carbon abatement.  
    recovery sector. ‘
  • Champion the success of individual professionals and organisations working in the waste and resource recovery sector.
  • Community engagement and education on waste minimisation and reduction.


Media enquires

Name: Jacqueline Ong

Contact: [email protected] / mobile: 0450 168 942