Achievements in the circular economy recognised

Achievements in the circular economy recognised

• Circular economy
• Funding
• July 29, 2022

Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Dr Susan Close yesterday announced the 2022 winners of Green Industries SA’s Women in Circular Economy Leadership Scholarship and the Circular Economy Students Award.

Penelope Morrison was awarded the Women in Circular Economy Leadership Scholarship, and students Maximilian Mann, LianCheng Li, Yunzhong Wang and Roxane Adams were each presented with a Circular Economy Students Award.

The Women in Circular Economy Leadership Scholarship recognises women who are emerging or established leaders working in the area of waste and resource recovery, or related areas such as the Circular Economy, and allows them to pursue an investigative project of a kind that is not readily available in South Australia. 

The Circular Economy Student Award supports circular capacity building in South Australia, and recognises the innovative thinking and research around the circular economy for South Australian honours and postgraduate students who are able to develop realistic solutions for accelerating the state’s transition to a circular economy.  

About the winners

Penelope Morrison | Women in Circular Economy Leadership Scholarship

Penelope’s project seeks to investigate solutions for problematic items such as textiles and glass fines waste through local remanufacturing within Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

Maximilian’s research investigated new technologies for e-waste recycling and included development and patenting of safe and low-cost methods to extract gold from e-waste, and the invention of methods to convert plastic and fibreglass from printed circuit boards into new construction materials. 

The Chief Executive’s Award is awarded to the best overall application. 

LianCheng Li | University of Adelaide – Masters and PHD

LianCheng’s research investigated the conversion of waste plastics into construction applications, from a business perspective. The research examined critical issues/factors and their interrelationships in the conversion of waste plastics to construction materials and value-added use, presenting a local business landscape of SA’s plastic recycling chain, its strengths and weaknesses, as well as corresponding solutions.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Dr Susan Close, Circular Economy Student Award winner Liancheng Li, and Chief Executive Ian Overton

Yunzhong’s research investigated the design, fabrication and evaluation of a novel, low-frequency ocean wave-driven generator that produces no pollution, has a lower cost and is environmentally friendly.

The generator utilises recyclable and sustainable material to fabricate an energy converter to harvest electricity from the low-frequency movement of the ocean wave, and reduce carbon emissions during generation. The generator provides a potential application for offering electricity to the rural/remote areas close to the coastline, and to offshore islands.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Dr Susan Close, Circular Economy Student Award winner Yunzhong Wang, and Chief Executive Ian Overton

Roxane’s research explored the potential impact of designers and architects in promoting circular building practices through their unique opportunity to design-in used materials and objects. The thesis argues barriers to this design practice include a lack of standardised practice frameworks, education, digital infrastructure and policy/regulatory support. With these in place, designers could reduce construction waste.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Dr Susan Close, Circular Economy Student Award winner Roxane Adams, and Chief Executive Ian Overton