What happens when our landfills are full? Part 2 – plastic

| olivialealwalker

Last month, a colleague challenged everyone in the company to undertake a single-use plastic free month. As someone who works in sustainability, I thought I’d smash it. Wrong! I knew I was in trouble when I sat down at a café with friends and was greeted by the single largest straw I’ve ever seen!

The photo doesn’t do this mammoth plastic straw justice.

Earlier this week, I visited a landfill processing facility. This particular site processed 10% of Sydney’s municipal waste (the waste from your bins at home), and the size of the mound from just one day’s worth of waste was astronomical. The company was doing their best to pull anything of value out of the system (think aluminium cans). What remained was a consistent stream of plastic bags falling off a conveyor belt into a pile the size of a 5 story building, with trucks constantly doing their best to keep up with the river of waste.

I wish I could show you, and I wish that any of the photos that you’ve seen do it justice.

These two separate events have had a profound impact on my understanding of our plastic addiction. I’ve been confronted with the reality of those little everyday ‘she’ll be right’ purchasing decisions. It’s the spinach leaves in their plastic bag or the mince in its plastic tray. These everyday purchases are scaling up to a massive problem.

Retailers

There are retailers who have identified that plastic waste is a problem, and understand that consumer sentiment towards waste has shifted. If their value is aligned with those of their customers, they can increase their income. Franchisers like Boost Juice and Soul Origin are tapping into this market and are now selling branded re-usable cups.

Property teams

Burwood Brickworks, Frasers Property Australia’s retail centre which is targeting the Living Building Challenge, is taking this one step further. They’re working with all retailers (that’s everyone from the cinema to the takeaway shop to the nail salon) to not have any plastic waste on site! This is an enormous challenge, but you can keep posted on their progress here.

Another opportunity for property teams is to include requirements around reducing plastic in your tenant’s leases. The Better Building Partnerships Best Practice Leasing Guidelines are a fantastic resource for property teams, and CitySwitch provides great resources for tenants.

Your dollar is your vote

At the end of the day, companies change their approach based on consumer demand. If we all commit to purchasing plastic-free products, and waste is in our everyday discussion, then retailers do take note. Set yourself the challenge to remove all single-use plastic from your world for a month, and see what you learn.

What happens when our landfill is full? Part 1 – construction and demolition waste

| olivialealwalker
Construction and demolition waste accounts for 40% of Australia’s waste. Can the circular economy save us?
Photo credit: https://junkmancarting.com/construction-demolition-clean-up

Recent media, such as the ABC’s War on Waste, has bought waste into the public eye, including awareness of the issues surrounding building construction and demolition (C&D) waste.

C&D waste accounts for 40% of all waste generated in Australia. Due to high landfill waste levies (you pay for each tonne of waste sent to landfill), rates of recycling for C&D waste is relatively high. Or at least, it was.

In 2012 Queensland removed their waste levy, meaning there was no longer a financial incentive to recycle waste. You could hear echoes of “you beauty!” ring from the offices of NSW waste contractors. With the removal of this levy, they save ~$3,000 per truck load by driving it to a Qld landfill, rather than processing it for recycling in NSW. And they’re doing it in droves.

What is the future?

How can it be cheaper to send material interstate than to recycle it 50 km from your site? The waste levy will likely be reintroduced in Qld, however the real challenge is the almost non-existent market for recycled product manufacturing in Australia. As a result, quality recyclable material – such as glass – is being stockpiled in big warehouses, waiting for a second life.

Introducing the circular economy.

The circular economy is based on the idea that the waste output of one product is the building block of another.

The circular economy enables most waste to re-enter the system and be used as a resource.
Image credit:
http://www.tropismi.it/2017/04/13/leconomia-circolare-una-rivoluzione-a-impatto-zero/

An example of the circular economy in practice is the research undertaken by The Centre for Sustainable Material Research & Technology (SMaRT) at the University of New South Wales. The team has found a way to turn recycled glass and fabric into tiles with the same properties as traditional ones.

What can you do?

You can support the circular economy by specifying recycled content in your concrete, steel and other materials.

Procurement of building materials isn’t straightforward and issues of modern slavery, chemical toxicity, carbon content and performance need to be taken into account. For example, your recycled steel may be coming from ship-breaking yards in countries which use slave labour. Certifications like Good Environmental Choice Australia can help you make informed decisions about products.

What materials are in your building and how are you ensuring a circular economy future?

References:
– ABC iView. 2019. War on Waste. Viewed on 24.3.19 at https://www.abc.net.au/ourfocus/waronwaste/
– The Conversation. 2017. Explainer: how much landfill does Australia have? Viewed on 24.3.19 at https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-much-landfill-does-australia-have-78404
– Lyons, P. 2017. Investigation into the transport of waste into Queensland. Viewed on 24.3.19 at https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/68915/transport-of-waste-into-qld-final-report.pdf
– Snell, S. 2018. Turning old clothes into high-end building materials. Viewed on 24.3.19 at https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/turning-old-clothes-high-end-building-materials
– Good Environmental Choice Australia. 2019. Viewed on 24.3.19 at http://www.geca.eco/

Will your property be insurable?

| olivialealwalker
Flooding in the Hawkesbury – the risk remains and yet we seem to have forgotten.
Photo credit: NSW SES West Sydney

Has your project considered past and projected climate-related risks? Your insurer certainly has!

It’s been 152 years since the great flood in the Hawkesbury, which killed 20 people, including 12 members of the Eather family. The river rose 19 m above its normal level, which is the height of a 6 story building! My great-grandma used to share the stories that her grandmother told, of grand pianos floating down the Hawkesbury River in a flood. How quickly do we forget the disasters of the past in our planning?

Flood risk in the Hawkesbury

According to the Insurance Council of Australia, the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley has the highest flood risk in NSW. Despite this, homes are currently being constructed in low-lying areas on the floodplain.

While these risks have been reduced by Warragamba Dam, they certainly haven’t gone away. If the flood of 1867 occurred today, there’d be approximately $5 billion in damage. Discussion of raising the dam wall is at loggerheads – although it would reduce impacted properties in a 1 in 100-year flood event from 5,000 to 1,000, the upstream impacts to Aboriginal heritage sites and areas of high ecological value, are unacceptable.

Are insurers passing the buck?

Planning isn’t considering future risk. Sea level has already risen by 4.7 cm on the east coast of Australia, compared to the long-term average, and it’s going to continue to do so. If we keep going with business as usual, nearly 10% of Australian homes could be “uninsurable”.

“If you build a house now, by the end of its operational life that risk will have significantly more than doubled … So what used to be the one-in-200-year flood zone is the new one-in-100-year zone. These are the properties that will become uninsurable.”

Dr Karl Mallon, 2019

Where insurance is available, policies often require a return to the previous condition, which does nothing to alleviate the risk of damage caused by further floods.

What can we do as an industry?

The more properties that mitigate for climate risk, the less damages occur during extreme weather events, meaning insurance premiums come down for everybody. Adaptation strategies include not building in certain areas in the first place! They also include:

  • Installing white roofs to keep homes cool during heatwaves;
  • Establishing community development programs, so neighbours support each other;
  • Installing water tanks for use during periods of drought; and
  • Building the ground floor above minimum heights, to reduce flooding risk; and
  • Personally, develop an emergency plan. The Red Cross has great resources available.

Once again, our building standards don’t do enough to curb climate risks. Your project needs to go beyond code to ensure that it is insurable in the future.

References:
– NSW Government, 2018. Flooding in the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley. Viewed on 24.3.19 at
http://www.infrastructure.nsw.gov.au/media/1525/hnvflooding_factsheet_feb2018.pdf
– Dalberger, J. 2019. Warragamba Dam: Dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t. Viewed on 24.3.19 at https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/urbanism/environment/warragamba-dam-damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-dont/
– Ting, I., Liu, R., Scott, N., & Palmer, A. 2019. The runaway insurance effect. Viewed on 19.3.19 at
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-13/climate-data-reveals-australias-worst-affected-regions/10892710?pfmredir=sm
– The Red Cross. 2019. Get Prepared App. Viewed on 24.3.19 at
https://www.redcross.org.au/get-help/emergencies/preparing-for-emergencies/get-prepared-app

How to get fit (while helping the environment)

| olivialealwalker

You know those Snickers advertisements where it says you’re not yourself until you eat one of their delicious chocolate bars? That’s me, except I’m not myself until I go for a bushwalk. Exercising in the outdoors, without the distraction of my phone, releases all the good chemicals that my brain and body needs.

I’m so fortunate that there is a National Park within walking distance of my apartment, and I love it. It’s such a privilege to run past the beautiful big trees, the quick-flitting birds and the chorus of frogs. Unfortunately, there is evidence of humans everywhere – particularly after rain – the creeks throughout are choked in plastic, and an abundance of weeds crop up along the banks.

Take 5, Park’s Alive

If you haven’t come across it, the ‘Take 3 for the Sea’ program is enormous, and incredibly impactful. It encourages people to pick up three bits of plastic and bin them.

Why can’t we do the same for weeds? Introducing the ‘Take 5, Park’s Alive’ program!

The idea behind this is that people walking along trails in a National Park can pull out five weeds along their journey. There will be signs to inform what the weed is and how to remove it, as well as a designated area to leave it. By focusing on specific areas and specific weeds, it gives the regular bushcare volunteers a fighting chance to stay on top of the weeds.


By putting signs along trails, users of the space can contribute to National Park’s environmental goals.

The Park that I exercise through is full of joggers, walkers and bike riders. Many hands make light work! People want an opportunity to give back, but don’t often know how. ‘Take 5, Park’s Alive’ gives them the chance, while also meeting National Park’s educational objectives.

How can you get the community involved in your project?

Are our cities balanced?

| olivialealwalker
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Balance for Better’. We’re doing it in the workforce, but what about in our cities?
Photo credit: Michelle Hadchiti

Last Friday was International Women’s Day, and I was blown away by the bombardment of stories and lessons from inspirational women all over the world.

(Side note: why can’t every day be International Women’s Day? This year it resonated much more strongly for me, and I think it’s because I’m starting to see a real shift happening in the workplace, with our leaders, well, showing leadership, and meaningful initiatives being implemented, making balance seem achievable).

Warning: not suitable for use by XX chromosomes

It’s been reported recently that more women die in car accidents, because the safety features have been designed for men’s body proportions.

Similarly, our homes and public open space are also not as safe for women, with women aged 25 – 44 in Australia more likely to be killed or maimed by domestic violence than any other risk factor.

Safer spaces

The development industry has a role to play to ensure that places are safe for women. When designing to CPTED* principles, apply a female-focused filter. For example, when I walk through one park late at night, I feel really safe, because there are a row of apartments which overlook me. On other routes, I’m terrified, because it’s just closed shops, and so I make eye contact with every street camera so they can find me if needed.

If you have community development programs, consider how these can have an element of connecting women to the assistance they need to escape from a domestic violence situation.

Diverse development

It’s common knowledge that teams and projects work better with diverse thought (which may be gender, cultural background, age or even different thinking styles or skill sets). Yet, I often see project proposals where the ‘meet the team’ page is a collage of white middle-aged men. I see these and cringe because the chances of the proposal being considerate of diverse customer needs is unlikely.

You can help #BalanceforBetter by ensuring that there are an equal number of women in your architecture, landscape architecture and development teams, including the companies you choose to engage with. Ideas are generated based partially on our own lived experiences, and so women design best for other women.

My challenge for you today is to question:

  1. How are you involving women in the important, decision-making conversations?
  2. How are you ensuring that we create spaces that are safe and useable for women and children?

May everyday by International Women’s Day!

*CPTED is crime prevention through environmental design and considers how we design our outside areas e.g. fences, parks, line of sight, to prevent crime.

References:
– Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2018. Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, 2018. Accessed on 11.3.19 athttps://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-in-australia-2018/contents/summary
– Stavely, J. 2019. The reason why a woman is more likely to die in a car crash than a man is. Accessed on 11.3.19 at https://www.mamamia.com.au/car-crash-statistics/

I’ve bin chicken you out: The Rise of the Ibis

| olivialealwalker
Ibis at Wynyard Station: we’ve missed the train trying to keep them out of our cities

If ‘The Rise of the Ibis’ sounds like a Star Wars movie, then good, for it seems that our city parks are our battle ground and bin lids are our only defence against the long and pointy beaks of our enemy.

And yet, I have a confession to make: I love the bin chicken.

I think it comes from an understanding that ibis are native to Australia. We’re building over all the wetlands, so they’ve got nowhere to call home. Now how do you feel? Ok, I get that you still hate them.

So what does this mean for our city?

We have another 10 million people to fit into Sydney in the next 10 years (NSW Government, 2018). We’ve (attempted) to design this city to be convenient for humans to live, move, work and play. What does our love of concrete and steel mean for the species whose habitat we’re developing on?

We need to consider where we are going to build, and who – other than humans – is impacted by this. We’ve already lost 54 species in Australia , and that’s not the future that I want to grow up in. It’s really not ok.

Rating tools such as Green Star and the Living Building Challenge, don’t allow you to develop on sensitive areas at all. This needs to be minimum practice – no matter how essential it seems to build that piece of infrastructure there, there is always a smarter way. We need to put value on biodiversity (yes, there is financial value but I’m also talking about the type of value you get when you wake up in the morning and can be proud of the work that you do), so that it’s a stakeholder with a seat in these decision making processes.

This matters. Once a species is gone, it’s gone. To put it in perspective, humans are only one species.

Recommendation

Policy
We mandate that no development can occur on threatened ecological ecosystems, in line with what Green Star and the Living Building Challenge already require.

Development
Every project has a Biodiversity Management Plan that follows the following hierarchy:

We can design around areas of habitat on our projects, minimise harm through appropriate controls during construction, and then restore any habitat that was on site. Fairwater, by Frasers Property Australia, has done this spectacularly by transforming a concrete stormwater channel into a beautiful natural corridor. All development will have some residual impact, but offsetting should be the absolute last viable solution.

Done well, biodiversity adds value to our sites by creating space for recreation, visual amenity and stormwater management.

Fairwater: brilliant by nature.
Photo credit: Frasers Property Australia

Back to the bin chook

In Africa, they call a similar species ‘The Sacred Ibis’. In Australia, we call them ‘bin chickens’. Before you hate on the tip turkey, understand that she’s had to swap her crabs for your kebabs because of the way that we do business. If we continue to build on high quality habitat, then we may find ourselves fighting for more space.

References:
– NSW Government, 2018. Delivering Infrastructure. Viewed on 9.3.19 at: https://www.nsw.gov.au/improving-nsw/premiers-priorities/delivering-infrastructure/
– ABC News, 2016. Fact check: Does Australia have one of the ‘highest loss of species anywhere in the world’?.Viewed on 9.3.19 at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/fact-check-does-australia-have-one-of-the-highest-extinction/6691026

Next stop: nature station

| olivialealwalker
Redfern Station – one of many examples where planting would make a positive impact on the customer experience.

When I catch the train in the morning to work, I’m taken on a journey of a different sort. You could say it’s an emotional journey, but I think there’s a physical response. You see, as a wanna-be ecologist and bush care enthusiast, the train journey to work affords me a view of some of the worst weeds in Australia as well as the most beautiful Australian native flora.

While we don’t want a possum splattered on the windscreen of your train, the benefits of biodiversity far outweigh that risk.

Our train corridors often have quite a large buffer between the tracks and the fence line, in some areas up to 20 metres wide. While I appreciate the service tracks, many of these are thick with weeds like privet, balloon vine and ‘mother of millions’. While these weeds may be constrained within a fence, their seeds certainly are not, and they are providing a bank of genetic material that has a far wider spread than the rail corridor. Native plants and animals need green corridors to be able to move between patches of good quality bushland, so that they can breed and feed. What if transport corridors were biodiversity havens?

What does good look like?

The soon-to-be-completed (ha!) Sydney Light Rail around Randwick is the best local example that I’ve seen of integrating biodiversity and transport. Not only is it beautiful, the planting will also provide shade and a visual break from the main road. Meadowbank Station is another brilliant example, where not only the station itself has been improved, but the train track surrounding it.

The law doesn’t allow me to take photos while I’m driving, so here’s an artists impression of the Sydney Light Rail crossing the South Dowling Bridge, showing positive integration with nature.
Photo credit: NSW Transport and Infrastructure

What could we do?

Train services are often shut down for scheduled maintenance on weekends, meaning that no trains run and the tracks are safe. This is a great opportunity for Transport NSW to host volunteer days (they could certainly do with the good PR), where people volunteer to vegetate a section of the track. In return, volunteers could get free trips on their Opal cards, and a sense of pride on their daily commute.

In addition, all new train stations (in fact, all infrastructure projects) should rate their work under ISCA – the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s tool – and target credits relating to ecology and green infrastructure.

What next?

Increasing biodiversity brings with it beautification, cooling of our cities (evapotranspiration of trees does a better job than weedy grass), potential noise control as well as shading where there are footpaths along the tracks. We have an opportunity to improve Sydney’s biodiversity, and it’s in front of our eyes every day.

Shifting shopping centres: what does this mean for people and pollution?

| olivialealwalker
Produce spilling into the main walkway creates a more intimate, market-like feel at Westfield Hornsby. As a side note, this photo shows they could clearly do with some more plants.
Photo credit: Scentre Group

There are certain stages that you go through as you move through your 20s – the 21sts (phew, survived those!), the weddings (four this year) and then the babies. With my best friend due to have her first baby, I headed down to Westfield Hornsby today to get vaccinated.

This centre is huge, and yet, it felt so personal.

With the way that the fresh food section was laid out, with produce spilling into the main walkway, and the bustle of activity, I felt like I was on the streets of Italy. There were playgrounds in every corner, and the buzz of noise permeates through the centre. There’s even a pet store with real kittens, so this big kid was satisfied! This centre had a sense of excitement – you didn’t know what you were going to stumble upon next, and so every store felt like a special secret.

What does the future of retail mean for sustainability?

The future looks different. The face of retail is changing, and if talk around the watercooler is anything to go by, people like to shop online. This growing trend makes me feel really uncomfortable for a few reasons.

Excess packaging

Every day, there are at least a dozen parcels delivered to work, waiting to be opened by the eager recipients who ordered them just three hours before (they’ll probably be returned and sent to landfill, but that’s another story). These glossy, plastic-wrapped ‘treat yo’self’ packages are only glossy and plastic-wrapped because they need to be delivered individually. It’s notoriously difficult for soft plastic to be recycled into something useful, and yet we’re not slowing down.

I don’t think this problem is going away, so I’ll give you an entrepreneurial idea for nothing: take-back re-usable packaging for clothes deliveries.

More pollution

These individually wrapped clothes are also individually delivered by individual drivers. What impact is this having on our air quality and traffic congestion? Drone delivery is next, but what will this mean for noise pollution and visual comfort? Thankfully, companies like Sendle provide a 100% carbon neutral delivery service.

Same-day delivery also means changes in the infrastructure required to move products. I expect we’ll see smaller warehouses closer to our high-density population centres. While this may drive up property prices, having more employment opportunities closer to home may be a positive outcome.

As a consumer, please think twice before you buy – it’s not just the purchase price, it’s the whole life-cycle cost of making and moving that product.

Breakdown of human interaction

While we play on our phones and order our shoes from home, I fear that the sense of isolation that is hovering over our communities may increase as we move away from congregating in shopping centres. To remain relevant, we need our shopping centres to be places that do spark joy and a place to mingle. Preferably over food. Everybody loves food.

As urban curators, how can we bring more excitement into physical retail centres, and retain a place for community?

River dreams

| olivialealwalker
Cooling off in the Hawkebsury River.
Photo credit: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/travel/australia/best-secret-sydney-beaches-revealed/news-story/e31983cba91fd34b5869af32a376d4a0

It was while meandering my way through a busy train station, swept up by the tide of bodies on their way to work that I stumbled upon an advertisement for the Hawkesbury, and its beautiful river.

The Hawkesbury is the place that I’ve called home for most of my life, and a place I still have a very strong connection with. The advertisement is right – it’s not just a river. I was lucky to grow up on beautiful farm land with views of mountains everywhere I looked. I could stumble upon a boutique shop, or a friendly store owner at any time. I could just as quickly escape to a national park, or swim in the river. The Hawkesbury is an incredibly beautiful place, and it’s certainly worth the visit.

So on my walk through this train station, I was transported to a different place, and it got me thinking – how can we bring a little bit of the Hawkesbury to our city? Why do we need to wait until the weekend to recharge? What could this look like? I’ve broken this down to three key areas: urban agriculture, connection to nature and human-first shopping.

Urban agriculture

The biggest event of the year is the Hawkesbury Show and everyone shows off their produce, from fruit to fowl to finely-arranged flowers. We grow up with an understanding of where our food comes from and an appreciation of what it takes to grow it. Through the Hawkesbury Harvest Trail, we’ve got access to fresh food straight from the farm.

City-dwellers don’t get this same benefit, and there’s an opportunity for Councils, community groups and even the residents to encourage more urban agriculture. This could be as simple as vegie gardens on the back veranda or as complex and resource-intensive as a community garden. It could also look like fruit trees along the street.

You can pick your own mandarins at Watkins Orchard on the Hawkesbury Harvest Farm Gate Trail.
Photo credit: Mary Canning Photography

Connection to nature

While not every LGA in Sydney has the privilege of being on the water, there is still an opportunity to increase connection to nature. Where there is the space available, development controls could ensure every dwelling has lines of site to nature, whether a park, a green roof or street trees.

Where space is a limiting factor, controls could support biophilic design. This may be through natural fibres, colours and forms, through light or through sound. People can take control of their lives and spend their lunch break in a park, or through some nature-based meditation. Not only does connecting people to nature bring calming and positive productivity effects, it also has a cooling effect on our cities. By increasing canopy cover by 10%, the value of your home will also increase by an average of $50,000! (AECOM, 2017)

Human-first shopping

We may be faceless numbers to many of the big supermarkets, but there will still be hidden gems in your communities. I encourage you to reach out to and support your local family business – not only will it put money back into your community, it helps bring us all a little bit closer together, increasing our resilience during hard times.

So how are you going to bring a little of the Hawkesbury into your day?

Reference:
– AECOM. (2017). Green Infrastructure: A Vital Step to Brilliant Australian Cities. Viewed 1.3.19 at https://www.aecom.com/brilliantcityinsights/brilliant-cities-insights-greening/