Joint effort to fast-track circular economy across industries

A NEW project between Southern Cross University, SDG Align and Meat and Livestock Australia is hoping to fast-track the Northern Rivers towards a sustainable circular economy to strengthen waste resilience across multiple industries.

It will look to support recycling and waste management opportunities across the agriculture and food industry.

Supply chain innovation lead at Meat & Livestock Australia, Alicia Waddington, said the initiative was part of the organisation’s strategy to deliver sustainability outcomes that improve productivity and profitability for producers.

“Livestock operations are increasingly looking for circular solutions to deal with waste streams like manure, wastewater, and plastic,” she said.

“This project is an opportunity to co-design scalable solutions that align with the sector’s sustainability goals and strengthen supply chain resilience.”

Stakeholders from local businesses, councils, and community organisations are invited to participate through short interviews and upcoming co-design workshops.

Project partner at SDG Align Willem Overbosch said the aim is to co-create a locally relevant, practical model that helps the region shift from linear to circular in the use of resources and design systems.

Professor Andrew Rose at Southern Cross University hopes the project can build on the success of the university’s ReCirculator program, which ran six successful pilot projects between 2021–2024.

It focused on thermal treatment of waste, plastic recycling and capturing nutrients from industrial wastewater.

“This project takes it further into applied systems design with a clear economic and governance lens. We aim to move beyond discussion and deliver a tangible model for regional circularity,” Mr Rose said.

For expressions of interest to participate in a co-design workshop, contact SDG Align at [email protected].