Circular economy - ASPIRE platform

ASPIRE – circular economy marketplace

An online platform for exchanging waste as a resource and making new business connections.

Share. Don't waste it, reuse it.

Council is committed to developing and promoting the circular economy to diversify our local economy and support our sustainability goals, a priority statement of Council Plan (2021-2025). See our Circular Economy webpage (coming soon) for more information on our strategy to progress this area of work.  

Research from Europe shows moving to a circular economy could increase economic growth by between 0.8% and 1.4% per year. That translates to GDP growth and more local jobs.  We are encouraging Hepburn Shire businesses to embrace a circular economy. 

ASPIRE - a circular economy marketplace

ASPIRE (Advisory system for processing innovation and resource exchange) is an online marketplace which allows businesses to search alternative solutions for waste going to landfill. It works by intelligently matching businesses with potential remanufacturers, purchasers or recyclers of their waste resources. 

ASPIRE is available to any Hepburn Shire ABN holder. 

Council has invested in an ASPIRE license so that Hepburn Shire organisations with less than 20 staff have FREE access to the circular economy platform . Register your business in minutes to start exchanging waste today. 

What if I have more than 20 employees? 

You can still join the ASPIRE reuse platform. Businesses of any size can join, however there is an annual fee for larger businesses.

How it works

Developed by CSIRO and data 61, ASPIRE creates matches between your organisation and another based on your waste profile. In practice, an organisation will list potential inputs they use (materials and/or items) alongside their outputs (unwanted waste streams). This develops a waste profile where the platform cleverly connects another organisation’s inputs with your outputs thus facilitating an opportunity of circular resource exchange. 

 

You are able to exchange resources with organisations outside of the Hepburn Shire including other councils and businesses in Victoria. This enables greater opportunity to exchange goods, divert resources from landfill, save on disposal costs and develop innovative solutions for troublesome materials. 

Commodities traded on ASPIRE

Reusable items include: organics, paper and cardboard, metals, plastics, glass, textiles, hazardous items, chemicals, liquids, e-waste, construction and demolition, furniture, automotives, wood and timber and more.

Benefits for your organisation

Leveraging a circular economy model for exchanging waste can: 

  • Save costs on waste disposal 

  • Earn revenue from waste 

  • Divert waste from landfill 

  • Generate data on your business's sustainability commitment 

  • Create new supply chains 

  • Connect businesses 

  • Create new ideas for re-use and recycling 

  • Exchange or sell items 

  • Exchange resources 

  • Reduce CO2 emissions. 

Using ASPIRE

Getting started with Aspire is simple: 

  1. Using your web browser, go to the Aspire website
  2. Register an account via the login button
  3. Tell Aspire the material inputs and outputs of your organisation
  4. Upload a photo and basic info of your unwanted resource to the marketplace
  5. Continue business as usual or explore the marketplace. 

You will be notified when you have a match, or someone has expressed interested in your resource. 

Videos on circular economy

Handy videos to get you on your way to a circular economy! 

Case studies

Here are some of the successful ways businesses have used this program. 
A new home for e-waste 

E-Waste is a huge problem in Australia. With approximately 109000 tonnes of e-waste disposed of annually, only 10% was recycled. A Tech Recyclers, an Australian recycler, source electronic waste from businesses and schools for re-purposing and recycling. On ASPIRE, they were able to build their client base to expand their stockpile and divert e-waste from landfill. 

Timber and pallet recycling 

Around 70% of timber waste ends up in landfill, this includes timber pallets. It’s a hassle for businesses to dispose of timber pallets because they are bulky. Food business, COYO, exchanges their timber pallets with Dolphin Plastics via Aspire to generate cost and carbon savings. In turn Dolphin Plastics uses the pallets for redistribution of their product. This creates a sustainable cycling loop. 

Contact

Visit Aspire to register and access the marketplace. 

If you have any questions or would like to find out more contact: 

Cameron McKenzie, ASPIRE CEO, via email camm@aspiresme.com or call 0417 212 240 

Or 

jnewcombe@hepburn.vic.gov.au to connect with Jodi Newcombe, Circular Economy officer. 

 

 

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