Swinburne joins new sustainability and waste consortium

Swinburne has joined a new Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub that is spearheading sustainability research, supported by a successful $17 million submission to the federal government’s National Environmental Science Program.

The hub is led by UNSW Sydney and composed of six world-class research institutions, also including the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Monash University, Curtin University and the University of Tasmania. 

The Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub is led by Australian Research Council Laureate Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla, a materials scientist, engineer, inventor and a founder and director of UNSW’s Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology. 

Swinburne School of Design’s Professor Marcus White is leading the Swinburne team with researchers across the university taking part. Together, they will be demonstrating the power of multidisciplinary design thinking to resolve complex problems.

Architectural design rapid prototypes printed from waste plastics, ready to be recycled again. Image supplied by Daniel Prohasky.

The Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub will deliver:

• targeted information and management tools to reduce the impact of plastic and other material on the environment
• applied scenario-modelling to support sustainable people-environment interactions in communities including urban heat island impacts and liveability analysis
• effective and efficient management options for hazardous waste, substances, and pollutants throughout their lifecycle to minimise environmental and human-health impacts
• research that supports maintained and improved air quality.

Swinburne is looking forward to contributing game-changing research that improves the future of our world.