Experts seek solutions to conquer mountains of waste

Experts from industry, government and academia will put their heads together at a workshop in Darwin next week to explore how to deal with ever-rising mountains of construction and demolition waste produced by a global building boom that shows no sign of abating.

Charles Darwin University Northern Institute Research Fellow Dr Deepika Mathur said the two-day workshop would provide an opportunity to discuss the social, environmental and economic issues associated with construction waste management and identify opportunities and potential solutions.

“This workshop, which follows a similar one in India in January, draws together a cross-section of decision-makers, thinkers and other stakeholders determined to address crucial construction and demolition waste management issues, by learning from each other’s experiences,” Dr Mathur said.

“These are issues critical to Australia and India where landfills are rapidly becoming exhausted and where offshoring options are becoming unviable.”

Construction and demolition waste can represent up to 40 per cent of waste sent to landfill, Dr Mathur said.

“We must work together to identify opportunities and potential solutions to the growth in waste generation, particularly as the population continues to rise and global construction activity grows.

“That is where these workshops have value. The key to conquering the ‘waste management mountain’ is to learn from each other’s experiences and through long-term knowledge and technology exchange partnerships between experts in Australia and India.”

The workshops, run in collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the University of Melbourne, were funded by the Federal Government’s Australia-India Council, which promotes projects that deepen Australia’s relationship with India through mutual understanding and collaboration.

Dr Mathur said more than 40 delegates attended January’s New Delhi workshop, including representatives from government, industry, building material manufacturers, construction and demolition waste facility managers, building practitioners, developers, rating bodies, non-government organisations and academic institutions. Speakers included TERI Senior Director Sanjay Seth, Bureau of Indian Standards Director Sanjay Pant, Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s Director Saurabh Diddi and the Australian High Commission’s Economic Counsellor Timothy Kendall.

This second workshop will be held at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Esplanade on 23-24 April between 9am and 5pm. Details and registration, W: cdu.edu.au/northern-institute/cons-waste-manage-workshop-2019