National program for recycling away from home

CFSGAM Property, the Packaging Stewardship Forum of the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) and the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC), together with Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt, this week launched a comprehensive recycling program to boost away-from-home recycling.

L to R: Stan Moore, APC CEO; Greg Hunt, Minister for the Environment; Stefan Preuss, Director of Resource Efficiency, Sustainability Victoria; Rowan Griffin, Head of Sustainability Property, Colonial First State Global Asset Management.

The program, made possible through government, industry and business partnership and funding, installs waste and recycling bins in retail spaces to enable consumers to recycle away from home. It was launched at QV Melbourne - the first of 29 CFSGAM Property-managed shopping centres nationwide to join the recycling program.

Other CFSGAM Property Victorian buildings to join the program include Altona Gate Shopping Centre, Bayside Shopping Centre, Brimbank Central Shopping Centre, Broadmeadows Shopping Centre, Chadstone Shopping Centre, Corio Shopping Centre, DFO Essendon, DFO Moorabbin, DFO South Wharf, Northland Shopping Centre and Rosebud Plaza Shopping Centre.

In Victoria, CFSGAM Property acknowledges funding support from the Victorian Government, the National Packaging Covenant Industry Association (NPCIA) and the Packaging Stewardship Forum. Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith said the program “will help people to do the right thing and recycle when they are out and about, creating a safer and healthier environment for all Victorians”.

Rowan Griffin, head of sustainability at CFSGAM Property, said 184 recycling bins will provide away-from-home recycling opportunities to around 280 million visitors to CFSGAM Property-managed centres across Australia each year. He noted that the QV Melbourne bins have been installed and operational since July 2013, resulting in an increased recycling performance of 67%.

“Programs such as these have real benefits: environmental, societal and financial,” Griffin said. “For example, in one of the listed funds we manage, CFS Retail Property Trust Group, we have diverted over 10,300 tonnes of waste from landfill in the past two years alone, which has resulted in $1.6 million in avoided costs.

“If you include the efficiency improvements we have made in our energy and water management practices since 2007 across our two Australian listed funds, which includes CFX and Commonwealth Property Office Fund, we have saved investors and tenants over $24 million in avoided costs.”

The CEO of the AFGC, Gary Dawson, congratulated CFSGAM Property on its commitment to environmental sustainability. APC CEO Stan Moore added that the Covenant was pleased to be able to help CFSGAM Property make a positive difference.