Ten years ago, Lynne Loo was an academic researcher in Australia studying how waste from the abalone industry could be repurposed. Today, she applies that expertise to help startups find markets for materials that would otherwise end up in landfill. Her journey reflects a broader shift: treating rubbish not as an endpoint, but as a resource.
Australia generates roughly 76 million tonnes of waste each year, according to the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. That works out to about 2.9 tonnes per person annually, and a significant share goes straight to landfill. But a growing number of innovators are finding unexpected ways to give waste a second life.
From food waste to paper and leather
Matt Barber runs a home laboratory where he extracts pure cellulose from food waste. The material can then be processed into paper, leather-like sheets, or wood substitutes. It could also become bioplastic. Instead of waiting 75 years for a tree to grow, Barber says, "you can grow this in a week."
For Barber, the project fits around his day job. Having Loo as a reliable waste broker is essential: she connects his startup with a steady supply of feedstock and helps him find buyers. "You have a startup and you don't know what to do with it, and she helps you find a market for it," he explains.
This kind of collaboration between researchers and entrepreneurs is exactly what Europe's circular economy ambitions need. The European Union has set targets to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035, but many member states still rely heavily on landfill. Innovative approaches like Barber's could help close that gap.
Thermal conversion turns rubbish into vinegar and biochar
At a waste facility in Collie, Western Australia, the company Renergi is taking the concept further. Using thermal conversion technology, it transforms municipal solid waste and biomass into products including vinegar, biochar and oil.
"We can process just under about 30,000 tonnes of biomass waste per year and 4,000 tonnes per annum of the town's municipal solid waste," says Deejay Parker of Renergi. More than 70% of the material is recovered and converted into something new.
The biochar is already being used on fruit farms and at a winery in southern Western Australia. The project has received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, part of efforts to expand renewable technologies into regional areas. When it reaches full production, it is expected to become one of the country's largest producers of such materials.
Loo stresses the importance of demonstrating that these solutions work. "I think it's important for people to see that it's possible because there are so many naysayers," she says.
For European readers, the lessons are clear. The continent's waste problem is not unsolvable, but it requires investment in research, supportive policies, and a willingness to embrace unconventional partnerships. As Europe's heavy industry can go green without losing jobs, similar optimism could apply to waste management.
Moreover, the health and environmental benefits of reducing landfill are well documented. Even low-level air pollution disrupts sleep, and landfill sites contribute to air and water pollution. Cutting waste is not just an economic opportunity; it is a public health priority.
As Europe debates its next steps on the circular economy, it could look to Australia's example. The technology exists, the entrepreneurs are ready, and the market is waiting. What is needed is the political will to scale these solutions across the continent.
