Conference to establish a NSW and national Industrial Ecology Network

NSW businesses participating in the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) Sustainability Advantage program have forged a partnership with the Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) to host the inaugural Australasian Industrial Ecology Conference at the Sydney Powerhouse Museum on 30 and 31 July 2009.

An important conference goal is the establishment of a NSW and national Industrial Ecology Network. It is estimated that business and industry dispose of over 15 million tonnes of industrial waste resources every year. The potential of this resource is worth hundreds of millions of dollars as a potential alternative fuel or raw material feedstock, and could give NSW businesses a competitive edge against increasing interstate and overseas competition.

The Industrial Ecology Network aims to promote industry awareness and technology diffusion while encouraging public–private sector funding partnerships and alliances that will underpin sustainable business to business exchange of waste (solid and liquid) and energy as alternative feedstock material and fuel.

The conference runs over two days and features both international and Australian practitioners. They will showcase some of the world’s best in terms of sustainable, practical, and successful re-use of industry by-product waste from a suite of diverse sectors including mining and minerals, cement production, power generation, roads and infrastructure, building and construction, smelters and food manufacturing wastes.

Importantly, the conference also seeks to compare the vision of various state government jurisdictions and their approach to:

• Zero-waste initiatives;
• Approval processes for land application of wastes such as food, timber, industrial sands etc to avoid them reporting to landfill;
• Approval processes for fuel substitution of wastes such as food, timber, mixed plastics, combustible industrial wastes etc to avoid them reporting to landfill; and
• Aspirations for the waste and waste-avoidance regime established within the jurisdictions.

To find out more about the inaugural Australasian Industrial Ecology Conference, such as program and registration details, please visit www.austindustrialecology.com.au.