Esteemed innovator Professor Veena Sahajwalla FIEAust CPEng breaks down how microfactories can transform waste into high-value materials.
Sahajwalla has had a long career in recycling science and green manufacturing.
As Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology (SMaRT) at UNSW, she’s spearheaded research into microfactories as a facilitator of molecular circularity.
“What I really enjoy seeing is when our collaborators [and] industry partners are as excited … and passionate about doing micro-recycling, because it makes sense for their business,” she said.
In a recent conversation with create, she outlined how Australia can transform waste into valuable materials, reshaping the country’s approach to sustainability and innovation.
Watch the full video with Sahajwalla below.
Great innovation from Prof Sahajwalla, but we need to take care of two road blocks for this to progress:
1) We have to stop the WtE industry burning everything and instead treat used materials as resources to be remanufactured. Once you’ve shredded everything any possibility of recovering usable resources is almost impossible.
2) All levels of govt must show leadership and regulate to enforce the recovery of used materials as resources – not waste to be got rid of. Once this is done complete new industries will spring up to address govt’s requirements and create 100s of permanent, skilled jobs we so desperately need.
Well as an engineer&owner of one of these faculties, producing different kind of plastic products such as pipes, i always think about the possibility of replaying the process of getting the raw materials as it’s first shape which’s practicaly ‘oil’, any idea about this ?