Queensland University of Technology‘s (QUT) newly established Centre for a Waste-Free World is consolidating the nation’s efforts to minimise waste and drive environmental change. On average, 2.7 tonnes of waste are generated per year per person in Australia.
The three research programs tackle issues across the waste spectrum, from reduction and elimination strategies, through to recycling and finding new value in waste products:
Research institutes such as The Centre for a Waste-Free World will continue to benefit from the National Environmental Science Program (NESP), which recently announced an investment of $149 million by the Morrison Government for its second phase.
NESP is Australia’s flagship research program delivering applied scientific knowledge, decision tools and practical management options to support environmental commitments.
This next phase builds on past achievements and will focus on:
• The Resilient Landscapes hub will draw together a wide range of expertise to provide
advice on increasing the resilience of our natural landscapes and biodiversity at
continental, regional and local scales. The hub will provide national leadership on
threatened species and will play a crucial role in bushfire preparedness and recovery of
biodiversity and habitat.
• The Marine and Coastal hub will integrate our national temperate and tropical marine
research capacity. It will deliver research on our marine, coastal and estuarine
environments and address challenges like how to protect communities from storm
damage and sea level rise while maximizing opportunities for blue carbon.
• The Sustainable Communities and Waste hub will deliver cutting-edge research on how
to improve the liveability of our urban and rural environments while delivering critical
advice on how to reduce the impact of waste, chemicals and air pollution on the
environment, communities and the economy.
• The Climate Systems hub will provide fundamental and applied science to inform our understanding of our changing climate. The hub will focus on climate events such as rainfall and drought, heatwaves, fire weather, storms, flood and cyclones in our region.
All hubs will deliver on four cross-cutting missions: threatened and migratory species and
threatened ecological communities, climate adaptation, protected places, and waste. These
missions will bring together scientists, economists, climate experts, Indigenous Australians and
natural resource managers across the research portfolio.