The City of Ballarat has invited businesses interested in being part of its proposed Circular Economy by 2050 strategy to submit expressions of interest in a twin tender run alongside Development Victoria.
The two government bodies are releasing parallel but separate expressions of interest (EOIs) for businesses that can provide collaborative, innovative and future-proofed solutions to deal with and add value to the regions’ waste and end of life material streams.
The “Materials EOI” run by the council will see businesses compete to provide circular economy solutions processing solutions for waste and recycling material streams from Ballarat and the surrounding region.
Included waste streams range from municipal solid waste, comingled recyclables, food and garden organics, glass and other materials located at the council’s waste transfer station including timber, e-waste and mattresses. The EOI closes on 27 April and the council said it expects to implement contracts by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Development Victoria’s Ballarat West Employment Zone’s Circular Economy precinct is open for EOIs from businesses who can demonstrate circular economy practices.
This EOI will close on 12 May, with 10 hectares of land due to be released in late 2024. It is anticipated that at least one of the projects constructed on the site will be a materials resource recovery centre, which will cost around $26 million, to transform some of the waste streams into useable materials.
“At the moment in Ballarat we export all our materials outside our local government for processing and we see that as a wasted opportunity. We’d like to keep as much of that within our region,” Ballarat Council circular economy coordinator Siobhan Dent said.
One of the difficulties in realising a circular economy vision is providing stable amounts of waste in a stream for manufacturers to recycle into other products, Dent added.
Circular economy consultancy Coreo has been working with Ballarat City Council on its Circular Economy by 2050 strategy.
Under the “Aspire Framework”, the regional Victorian city is also collaborating with Circular Economy Victoria as part of its Waste Wellbeing project, which focuses on how to create economic and social wellbeing by encouraging more reuse and repair activities in the local economy.
As part of this initiative the council established a hub called Berkeley Square in the town centre with toy and tool libraries, a wholefoods café and Styled for Success, which provides professional work outfits to job seeking homeless people.