TGL News: Enough plastic to wrap around the world 1.5 times

Greenlister Planet Ark Power has announced its intentions to expand into the Asia Pacific region and is taking the first step in opening an international office in Singapore. The Brisbane based engineering startup is now calling for investment capital and pilot projects to support the expansion.

Planet Ark Power made the announcement at the World Energy Council’s 24th World Energy Congress hosted in Abu Dhabi, where they presented as a #SET100 Startup. It comes after the company received global recognition for its innovative grid-transforming technology at the World Energy Council’s Start Up Energy Transition Awards in April.

Singapore based renewable technology and IT professional engineer John Coates has been engaged to perform the investor relations role in representing Planet Ark Power in Singapore during the Series A capital raise process.

• Read more about Planet Ark Power on The Fifth Estate

Greenlister GECA has teamed up with the City of Sydney to host Circular Economy with Materials In Mind – a free community event exploring sustainable and circular economy solutions with a focus on ecolabels.

The event will be held at Customs House Square over the week of Monday 14 – Saturday 19 October and will include an outdoor showcase of GECA certified building materials and furniture, as well as a thought leadership symposium at the Museum of Sydney (Thursday 17 October).

• For more information and to register for the event, visit GECA’s website

Greenlister the Collaborative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) has launched a new website for its Low Carbon Living Australia project. The new url houses many of the tools and resources produced by the CRCLCL, including a carbon footprint calculator and certified carbon offset marketplace.

The platform supports local businesses that are working to reduce their carbon footprint by providing residents and business owners the opportunity to understand their carbon footprints and receive tailored recommendations to help lower energy, waste and water usage and costs.

• Visit the website to find out more, support the program or become a member

Bread bags, lolly packets and other soft plastics are being recycled at increasing rates, according to a sustainability report by Coles. In the last year alone, the supermarket reported a 32 per cent increase in the amount of post consumer plastic items being recycled through its REDcycle bins.

This increase amounted to 226 million pieces being diverted from landfill – enough to wrap around the world one and a half times by Coles’ count. These items are then recycled through a partnership with Melbourne-based consulting and recycling organisation RED Group into products such as furniture, playground equipment and materials for walkways.

The report also identified a number of the most dedicated soft plastic recyclers across the country, including Hornsby in New South Wales, Yarraville in Victoria, Kenmore in Queensland, St Agnes in South Australia, Kingston in Tasmania, Jamison in ACT and Inglewood in Western Australia.

Automotive technology company Rivian is giving electric vehicle (EV) batteries a second life as storage units in a project to aid a Puerto Rican city severely impacted by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The proposed 135kWh of battery packs will be used to support a solar microgram project in Adjuntas. The municipality lies two hours south-west of San Juan, and has been struggling with power since the devastating weather event swept through two years ago.

The microgrid project will provide electricity to core businesses in the event of power outages and otherwise offset day-to-day electricity bills. It is expected to launch in 2020.

Creative Victoria and the National Gallery Victoria (NGV) are offering a $20,000 cash prize to national professionals and $5000 to tertiary students for the best design idea addressing one of Australia’s fastest growing waste problems – e-waste.

The E-Waste Challenge, part of Melbourne Design Week, aims to promote the role of designers in raising awareness, shifting behaviours and devising smart end-of-life solutions surrounding e-waste.

Entries from the two categories (professional and student) will be assessed by a judging panel chaired by the ABC’s War on Waste host Craig Reucassel. A shortlist of winners will then go on to the second round – a live ‘pitch’ presentation at the NGV during Melbourne Design Week, 12 – 22 March 2020.

• For more information and to enter, head to the NGV’s website