Introduction

In a world with finite resources and mounting environmental pressures, a fresh approach to production and consumption is needed. Circular economy offers councils, governments and businesses a practical pathway to turn Australia’s waste management challenges into opportunities.

The traditional linear economy, which follows a take → make → use → dispose model, strains the environment by not only eating into valuable resources and space, but also by driving up greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other pollutants. Such impacts only intensify as populations and economies grow. By contrast, circular economy—keeping materials in use for longer—directly supports broader emissions reduction targets and sustainable development objectives.

This article will demystify circular economy, highlight key policies and successful Australian initiatives, and describe how 100% Renewables has been working to support organisations in this space.

What is circular economy?

A circular economy is a regenerative system designed to keep products, materials and resources in use for as long as possible. Unlike the linear ‘take → make → use → dispose’ model, circular economy closes the loop, and in so doing, minimises waste and maximises resource efficiency.

While many people are familiar with concepts similar to ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, circular economy broadens this through a family of ‘re-strategies’ centred around extending a product or material’s life, value and utility—rethink, redesign, renew, refurbish, reduce, regenerate, repair, remanufacture, repurpose, recover, recycle, and resell. Variations in the vocabulary abound, but these ‘12 Rs’ capture the essence of circular economy.

Of course, at 100% Renewables, we are well aware of the virtues in the words that begin with ‘Re’. As our clients’ sustainability ambitions mature, our advisory has naturally expanded—integrating circular economy principles into emissions accounting, abatement planning and resource strategies, far beyond renewables alone.

Policy trends in circular economy

Australia’s policy landscape has shifted decisively in recent years. Governments across Australia are increasingly embedding circular economy principles into policies and procurement frameworks. The Australian Government has set a clear national direction, while every state and territory now has programs that reward resource recovery, curb waste, and stimulate markets for low-carbon, recycled materials.

Commonwealth leadership

The Circular Advantage is a policy roadmap developed by the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group that outlines fourteen core and twelve sector-specific recommendations covering product design, infrastructure investment, skills and finance. It provides a blueprint for integrating circular economy principles across climate, industry and procurement policy.

Following this, Australia’s Circular Economy Framework sets a national ambition to:

• Double circularity rate by 2035
• Reduce per-capita material footprint by 10%
• Improve material productivity by 30%
• Achieve a resource recovery rate of 80%

Recent policy developments demonstrate a commitment to waste reduction, resource recovery, and sustainable materials management.

State government policies

State governments also play a role in implementing circular economy initiatives tailored to local needs. Recent policies include:

• New South Wales: State-wide FOGO mandate, Return & Earn scheme, Low-Emission Building Materials (LEBM) Program
• Victoria: Container Deposit Scheme (CDS Vic), Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre (CEBIC)
• Queensland: Waste-levy escalation and grants package; Containers for Change expanded to wine & spirit bottles
• Western Australia: Kwinana Energy Recovery Facility now commissioning, diverting residual waste to generate power; Containers for Change WA
• South Australia: Australia’s pioneer container-deposit legislation
• Tasmania: Recycle Rewards container-refund scheme
• Australian Capital Territory: Circular Economy Act 2023, FOGO pilot expansion

Other key organisations

The Materials & Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA) is a key initiative driving sustainability in the construction sector. MECLA facilitates collaboration between government, industry, and research institutions to:

• Promote low-carbon building materials
• Host educational workshops on embodied carbon reduction
• Advocate for policy reform to embed circular economy principles in construction

The NSW EPA is also actively involved in promoting circular economy through various programs and resources, including the Circular Economy Accelerator Pilot for councils, which aims to build capacity for circular economy projects within local government.

Several universities have also been helping progress the shift towards circularity. Southern Cross University’s ReCirculator, for example, provides independent advice to agricultural businesses in the region on incorporating circular economy principles into their day-to-day operations.

Council-led circular economy initiatives

Australian local councils are at the forefront of implementing circular economy practices. Some notable examples include:

• Bega Valley Shire Council Regional Circularity Cooperative: Developing a localised circular economy strategy focusing on community-driven waste reduction initiatives.
• Hunter Circular: A regional program promoting circular economy principles through industry collaboration and material reuse networks.
• Hay Council Circular Economy Strategy: Outlines principles and targeted actions across assets, infrastructure, and waste systems—such as solar upgrades, material reuse, and the development of a local MRF and FOGO facility.
• Northern Beaches Council: Sustainable road resurfacing with recycled materials.
• Lake Macquarie City Council’s Circular Economy Framework: Circular economy infrastructure investment, including recycling hubs and community composting programs.
• City of Melbourne: Trialling precinct-scale circular economy initiatives such as localised material exchanges and zero-waste precincts.
• Hunter’s Hill Council’s “The Yarn”: A community space constructed with repurposed materials, hosting a tool-library, electronic waste (e-waste) recycling services, and a materials library.

100% Renewables’ role in circular economy

At 100% Renewables, we support government organisations and businesses in adopting circular economy principles through a range of services such as:

• Landfill emissions modelling: Forecasting impacts of abatement initiatives (e.g., FOGO, composting, recycling) on long term greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, and analysing low-cost opportunities options for LFG management using local resources.
• Carbon Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Helping organisations assess and reduce environmental impact of products and services through system mapping, quantifying embodied emissions, and identifying and managing process-level hotspots.
• Climate Active product certifications: We support Climate Active carbon neutral product certification including accounting for high-performance, low-carbon materials strategies and efficient resource use across the product life cycle.
• Low-carbon procurement advice: Supporting organisations in sourcing sustainable materials and services, and integrating low carbon procurement into their systems and strategies.
• Advanced Scope 3 accounting: Helping organisations shift towards physical activity-based accounting methods that can better reward circular economy initiatives and support a more rapid transition to net zero.
• Native woodland regeneration projects: Carbon sequestration and financial modelling of local habitat planting strategies.
• Sustainability reporting: Integrating circular economy actions into emissions accounting, sustainability strategies, and transparent disclosures.
• Fleet rationalisation, energy efficiency, and mode-shift strategies: Supporting organisations to rethink their vehicle, asset, and equipment stock, and optimise energy using processes, thereby reducing waste, costs and emissions.
• Urban greening and cooling strategies: Tree canopy assessment and target setting, low maintenance species selection, master planning technical support, and spatial data analysis.

Notable projects

We have led multiple projects advancing circular economy practices, including:

• Hunter Joint Organisation: Landfill emissions capacity building and policy scenario analysis.
• City of Canada Bay & Cairns City Council: Circular economy procurement policy development.
• Northern Beaches Council: Sustainable road resurfacing with recycled materials.
• Blackmores & Pharmacare: Packaging sustainability strategies.
• Bridgestone: End-of-life tyre emissions analysis for circular economy planning.
• NSW councils (several): Waste-to-energy emissions analysis
• Sustainable Fuels: Life cycle analysis of waste-derived Jet A1 biofuels for product certification under the Round Table for Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) scheme.
• Brickworks: Carbon value engineering to maximise climate change mitigation and adaptation through increased utilisation of renewable energy and recycled content in products, together with optimised house designs (including thermal modelling services with NatHERS software).

Conclusion

Shifting from a linear to a circular economy is a complex, long-term undertaking—one that brings both significant challenges and transformative opportunities. As resource pressures grow and sustainability becomes a core expectation, circularity will emerge not just as a potential strategy, but as a necessity—delivering lasting economic and social benefits, together with much needed emissions reductions. To realise its full potential, circular economy demands that governments, businesses, and communities alike expand their thinking—beyond traditional roles, beyond fixed geographies—and reimagine value, connection, and responsibility at every level.

Want to find out more about what you can do to ‘close the loop’? Contact us today to know we can help you adopt circular economy practices.

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