We don’t normally like to talk trash but that is exactly what we did at our recent SA ZERO workshop!

SA ZERO members came together at Flinders Port Holdings to discuss waste management practices, shared-resource use, and the circular economy. We also explored tricky waste which included everything from batteries and vapes to uniforms, polystyrene, and solar panels, discussing opportunities for collective action and collaboration.

Following the workshop, we joined KESAB for an eye-opening tour of Electronic Recycling Australia, SIMS Metal and ResourceCo, underlining the scale and magnitude of South Australia’s waste and recycling system and seeing first-hand examples of the circular economy in action.

• Committee for Adelaide members ResourceCo and Veolia are working together to turn commercial waste into alternative fuel. The joint venture operates 24/7, 6 days a week and is generating one million tonnes of sustainable Refuse Derived Fuel to replace natural gas at Adbri’s Birkenhead plant.
• SIMS Metal buys and processes scrap metal from businesses, other recyclers, and the general public, shredding around 80 tonnes of steel per hour.
• Electronic Recycling Australia is leading the way in responsible electrical and electronic goods recycling, processing a wide range of materials including metal, glass, printed circuit boards, plastic, and potentially hazardous materials. ERA received more than 38,000 flatscreen TVs in a 4-week period recently and with 60 tonnes of mattresses being sent to landfill this year already, it’s an important reminder of the need to invest in more sustainable materials and practices to ensure we realise our goal of zero carbon, zero waste.

A big thank you to Wendy Bevan, Sarah Bruns and the team at KESAB for the tour and to the team at Flinders Port Holdings for generously hosting this important workshop. Thank you also to Caitlin Smith from Green Industries SA for joining us and providing an overview of South Australia’s new Waste Strategy 2025-2030.

We have more workshops and public forums coming up as part of our SA ZERO program and we look forward to continuing to work closely with members to share learnings, highlight opportunities and drive collective action.

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