Managing waste in a multi-unit dwelling is an ongoing challenge. Between lack of space, waste stream contamination, resident apathy or confusion and budget constraints, achieving positive waste outcomes can feel impossible.
Thankfully, with an engaged Committee and the support of the right experts, Owners Corporations can make a real impact – reducing both the amount of waste sent to landfill and in turn, their waste collection expenses.
This is the type of work The Knight’s Sustainability Grants are designed to support, providing funding to Owners Corporations to explore & implement sustainability initiatives.
Learn more about our Owners Corporation Grants >
Thank you to all applicants for this year’s Owners Corporation Grants and congratulations to this year’s recipients.
Read on to learn more about how these OCs, in partnership with Reground, have explored the waste reality at their building and taken innovative steps to improve waste outcomes.
- 250E, Melbourne – Visual Waste Audit
- Atria, Hawthorn – Educational Videos
- Wurru Wurru Biik,Brunswick – Waste Contractor Review
- 115 Beach Street, Port Melbourne – Soft Plastics Collections
- The Fawkner Residences, Melbourne – Hard Waste Swap & Engagement Stall
Visual Waste Audit
250E, Melbourne
Reground conducted an in-depth audit of 3 waste streams, General Waste, Mixed Recycling and e-Waste.
For each stream, the analysis considered material composition, contamination trends, and opportunities for improved resource recovery.
Some of the findings included:
- 75% of contents in the general waste bin could have been recycled via alternate waste streams available on site (e.g. food waste, paper & cardboard)
- 30% of the mixed recycling bin contents was contaminants (e.g. bagged materials, soft plastics or unopened food)
- 25% of the contents of the e-Waste bin was contaminants including cardboard and textiles
Reground provided a thorough report of their recommendations including improved signage, awareness raising and implementing additional waste streams.
We are excited to support this Owners Corporation on their waste journey as they consider these recommendations and other future actions to reduce contamination and reliance on landfill.
Educational Videos
Atria, Hawthorn
The Committee at Atria worked with Reground on a creative behavioural change initiative to improve the utilisation of the existing waste streams within their building.
Atria is already very waste savvy, with 5 waste streams in place: general waste, mixed recycling, paper & cardboard, e-Waste and a Charity clothing bin.
Reground helped to produce a series of educational videos which will be circulated to residents, highlighting what can and can’t go into each bin and some best practice tips to reduce contamination for each stream.
Often, the most effective way to improve waste and recycling outcomes is by engaging the people who use the bins, as incorrect disposal is typically driven by a lack of knowledge rather than intent. This initiative is a great example of that approach in action. Well done to the Atria community for this clever initiative.
Waste Contractor Review
Wurru Wurru Biik, Brunswick
Wurru Wurru Biik is a relatively new community, who wanted to ensure they had the best waste management systems in place, and understand what opportunities for infrastructure and service improvements existed.
This initiative can provide actionable and potentially overlooked insights to a Committee, for example, considering that the upfront pricing of your waste contractor doesn’t always reflect the true cost of service once things like heavy bin lifts, fuel surcharges and futile collections are applied.
Further, items like regular bin cleaning may be included in your contract so you’ll want to ensure these services are being delivered.
Monitoring these things can help you ensure you have the right contract in place for the true needs of your building.
As we explored in our previous article (Selecting the right Waste Contractor), if your waste ends up at a facility that can’t properly sort and process it, all the good work done on site may go to waste.
Partnering with a transparent Waste Contractor is a crucial piece of the puzzle.
RELATED – Improving the Waste Management of your building >
Soft Plastics Collections
115 Beach Street, Port Melbourne
115 Beach Street elected to implement a 6-month trial of dedicated soft plastic collections. The Reground Team worked with the Committee to establish a dedicated soft plastic bin and support residents on its use.
As waste audits have revealed, 15% or more of general waste contents is often soft plastics. Implementing this as a separate waste stream not only keeps this problematic material out of landfill but can potentially save your OC money on general waste collections.
Beach Street are currently 3 months into the trial and have diverted 31kgs from landfill with no contamination reported. We look forward to seeing what the total benefit at the end of the 6 months will be, and if the committee continue the initiative.
Hard Waste Swap & Engagement Stall
The Fawkner Residences, Melbourne
In another creative example, the community at The Fawkner Residences hosted a hard waste swap and engagement stall out the front of the building.
The event brought the community together to give unwanted items a second life, diverting valuable materials from landfill and keeping resources in circulation. Residents were invited to drop off items they no longer needed and take home something new, creating a simple and accessible way to reuse everyday goods.
The event not only reduced waste but also sparked conversations around repair, reuse, and more mindful consumption. With strong participation and a great mix of items exchanged, the swap highlighted the impact small, local initiatives can have in supporting a more circular community.
Well done to The Fawkner Residences community for this strategic and beneficial step, we can’t wait to see what you implement next.
The incredible work of Reground.
Reground is a certified social enterprise specialising in assisting industry, local and state government in transitioning to circular waste and recycling systems through tested methodology and simple processes. Since 2014, Reground has provided a specialised resource recovery service to small-to-medium businesses and has kept over 2.3 million kilograms of ground coffee and over 346,000 kilograms of soft plastic out of landfill and diverted it back into the local community.
Reground’s award-winning team of circular economy consultants are data-driven strategy specialists providing innovative solutions to waste and recycling problems. Since 2017 Reground has employed skilled waste auditors to perform both visual and weight-based waste audits at multi-unit dwellings (MUDs) and single-unit dwellings (SUDs), businesses and schools. The team works with more than 20 councils on a range of projects which focus on data collection, monitoring and evaluation and evidence-based behaviour change strategies.