Ecologiq is a Victorian government initiative to integrate recycled and reused content into every corner of the state’s $80 billion Big Build, reduce waste and contribute to a Victorian circular economy.
A key driver of this change is the Recycled First Policy, which requires contractors to optimise their use of recycled and reused materials on transport projects for the first time in Australian history.
Ecologiq supports the implementation of this procurement mechanism and is supporting industry and government to progress research and validation through trials, developing new standards and specifications and enhancing industry capability.
Our presentation will showcase these methods’ effectiveness and be followed by a panel discussion to explore scalability of the Recycled First Policy, particularly for local government.
Using Recycled First Policy procurement to establish commitment and long-term change
The Recycled First Policy compels contractors to optimise recycled and reused materials within allowable standards and specifications, making the policy an effective mechanism to create local markets and supply chains.
Existing standards and specifications present a great opportunity to easily increase recycled and reused content. Tenderers are also encouraged to identify opportunities to trial innovative products and lead the development of new standards. In this way, the policy will fundamentally change how Victorian transport projects are procured and create a business-as-usual circular economy mindset.
Fuelling innovation by supporting industry trials
Ecologiq supports the integration of recycled material trials through the Recycled First Policy and by providing guidance to the industry on the testing and performance validation process.
Trials of recycled materials on shared user paths are proving to be easy and high-value wins in this space, with Victoria’s Big Build delivering more than 250 kilometres of new pathways across the state. These trials are also scalable at a local government level.
The trial of a recycled plastic product called eMesh on Melbourne’s M80 Freeway Upgrade demonstrates this perfectly. eMesh is a 100% recycled macro-synthetic fibre which replaces steel reinforcement in concrete.
The fibres are flexible and ready to use, saving time and cost by avoiding cutting and manoeuvring steel mesh.
The success of such trials has helped innovative products like eMesh become widely acceptable, with around 17 tonnes of eMesh used to build pathways alongside the Mordialloc Freeway, as well as traffic islands. It’s also been adopted by more than 30 Australian councils.
Local government’s role in building a circular economy
Ecologiq’s mission to build purposely greener infrastructure and spark change in how waste is viewed could easily expand across infrastructure projects of any size – from a local park bench to an airport.
All levels of government could develop procurement mechanisms like Recycled First and support civil contractors to embed circular economy principles in projects.
We encourage Victorian councils to engage with emerging suppliers of recycled and reused materials and use Ecologiq’s trial approach to support innovation across local areas.
Trials can make the use of recycled and reused products business as usual if they are factored into procurement processes and enshrined in technical standards and specifications.