The group meets monthly. Meetings are open to anyone with an interest in our activities. See “Next Meeting” under “Events” heading below for next meeting.
Meetings
One of our initial priorities is to gain a better understanding of the many great initiatives already underway in the Illawarra. In 2023 Circular Plastics Illawarra organised two tours of Shoalhaven City Council’s plastics recycling facility in West Nowra. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is granulated, melted into blocks and sold to a recycler. Soft plastics including textiles are mixed with glass fines to manufacture into tiles and other products in the MICROfactorie™. Read more.
Industry engagement
We are actively engaging with governments and elected officials at a local, state and federal level to advocate for policies and initiatives that support a circular economy for plastics. Examples include:
Submission to NSW EPA The Way Forward Consultation Paper Draft (November 2024). View Submission.
Submission to DCCEEW (national) on proposed packaging reforms. (October 2024). View Submission.
Meeting with Stephen Jones, Federal Member for Whitlam (August 2024). Read more.
Submission to Wollongong City Council on Wollongong Council’s Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy 2024 - 2034 Draft on 15th July 2024. View Submission.
Submission to the NSW EPA Next Steps paper on single use plastics (February 2024). Read more.
Submission to Wollongong City Council on the draft Climate Change Mitigation Plan 2023 -2030 (Oct 2023). Read more.
Letter to the Federal Minister for the Environment and Water proposing a national ban on EPS waffle pods (July 2023). Read more.
Meeting with Maryanne Stuart, Member for Heathcote (May 2023). Read more.
Submission to the Inquiry into plastic pollution in Australia’s oceans and waterways (December 2022). Read more.
Government advocacy
Locally, we know that valuable plastics research is being undertaken across the University of Wollongong (UOW) in diverse disciplines including engineering, business, geography, design and building and construction. Circular Plastics Illawarra invited academics from UOW to a workshop on 28 July 2023 to discuss how current research on plastics and sustainability could be leveraged to develop a circular economy for plastics in the Illawarra. Read a copy of the report from the roundtable here.
Research roundtable
Events
Next meeting
Meetings are usually held every 2 months on the last Friday of the month, 9:15 - 11 am, face to face and online.
November meeting will be held 2nd last Friday in November (20th November) at Corrimal Library and Community Centre, 15 Short St Corrimal (Bottlebrush Room). Join the meeting here.
Teams meeting: -
Meeting ID: TBA
Passcode TBA
September meeting agenda available here. View September Minutes here.
Members are encouraged to join Wollongong City Council’s Rise & Shine clean up events on the last Friday of alternating months.
