2011 Annual Conference

Held: Monday 10^th October & Tuesday 11^th October 2011

Venue: Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle, Western Australia

Click here for Conference Report

Click here for Conference Dinner Report

Click here for Tour of Good Samaritans Industries Report

Click here for Nacro 2011 Conference Brochure

 

2010 Annual Conference

Click here for conference brochure   Click here for conference program

The NACRO 2010 annual conference was held on the 11th and 12th October 2010 in Adelaide, South Australia at the Stamford Plaza Adelaide. The conference was greeted with an increse of 30% in delegate numbers from the previous year. The program consisted of presentations from leading recycling practitioners, advocators and regulators on recycling policies and e-waste issues.

Jon Dee We were fortunate to have renowned environmentalist and NSW Australian of the Year for 2010, Jon Dee open the conference with a key note address. Jon operates on the basis that when he sees an environmental injustice, he tries to dosomething about it. As a result, he has created a wide variety of campaigns and projects and solicited engagement through his friendships with well know celebrities such as Olivia Newton-John and Pat Cash with whom he co-founded Planet Ark.   Jon unashamedly promoted his new book on ‘Sustainable Growth’ which is aimed at those caught up in daily management of their business and that are too busy to explore the many ways that they can do more with less. This book has been written to show how to increase efficiency and productivity in ways that also help the environment.

Erin Henson | John Elliot Delegates were given an update from Erin Henson of Zero Waste SA on the work that the South Australian Government is currently undertaking and their future initiatives. John Elliott from Escape Nominees entertained the conference with his plans to recycle the 10 million sports shoes that are annually imported into Australia and New Zealand. Currently in development, John’s “Re-Use a Shoe” operation will repurpose the soles of sports shoes recycled into the base for artificial turf. He even had his completely recycled shoes on his feet to show off.

Peter Allan  The burning topic of e-waste and what this will mean to charitable recyclers in the future was addressed by Peter Allan of Hyder Consulting who explained the findings of his commissioned report on the role of not-for-profits in E-Waste recycling in advance of the E-Waste National Product Stewardship Scheme. Delegates were able to get a much clearer understanding of the government’s timings and the involvement opportunities that may be available to not-for-profits.

Alison Perizi | Michael Arbon | Kerryn Caufield Case studies from organisations are always interesting and we were grateful to Alison Perizi from Psychiatric Rehabilitation Australia and Michael Arbon from Anglicare SA for sharing the social enterprise projects that their organisations are undertaking. By the end of the “Wesley E-Recycling Waste Warriors” video that Alison shared with us, there were definitely a few tears in the eyes of delegates. Kerryn Caulfield, Executive Director of NACRO delivered the results of the Sustainability Victoria funded Victorian Charitable Recycling Industry Waste Impacts Study 2008/2009 which has provided extremely valuable data that can be used in lobbying government and council in the interests of NACRO members going forward.

Rob Lawson | Jess Lowry Day two of the conference was designed to assist delegates in improving their organisations in relation to social media and volunteer management. Rob Lawson and Jess Lowry from IQuantum gave delegates an overview of what social media tools are available to them and provided case studies from like organisations that have run powerful and effective campaigns. The messages that resonated arethat charities need to utilise social media to connect with a younger and wider demographic and to keep up with today’s expectations.

Andy Fryar Exceeding our expectations Andy Fryar shared his expertise in volunteer management. . Knowing only too well the issues faced by charities, Andy offered a myriad of suggestions and solutions to assist delegates in recruiting and retaining volunteers. Delegates were able to participate in frank and honest discussion in the aim of improving their current practice with volunteers.

This past year has been a busy one for NACRO that has rendered significant progress and valuable results. NACRO can celebrate an elevation of its profile and the role that charitable recycling plays in the community due to the distribution of NACRO E-News. Our advocating efforts with government and councils on various issues such as kerbside collections, landfill levies, charitable freight, e-waste involvement and misrepresentation of commercial operators has put the interests of charitable recycling on the map in the eyes of governments and councils. We are also focusing on building our membership as our voice can only be as strong as our membership.

We thank all delegates and presenters for attending and look forward to even bigger delegate numbers in Western Australia next year.

2009 Annual Conference

The NACRO 2009 annual conference was held on 12th – 13th October 2009 at the Country Place at Kalorama in Victoria. Home of spectacular tall forests, the Dandenong Ranges National Park was the perfect place to unwind, relax and be enriched by a program of informative presentations. By all accounts, the conference exceeded expectations.

Day one of the conference explored the policy environment in which charitable recycling organizations operate. It featured presentations from the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts on the national policy that is being developed on waste; and from Product Stewardship Australia, the not-for-profit, industry-led organisation which is advocating for a phased national scheme that will see the collection and recycling of televisions.

As we are all aware, the multi-billion dollar worldwide recycling industry performs a vital social and environmental function.

NACRO member organizations assist tens of thousands of people overwhelmed by life’s hardships. These activities and functions are partly funded by the income derived from charitable recycling. However, our efforts can be enabled or hindered by council and government policies in the increasingly regulated environment within which members operate. For this reason, NACRO is working more closely with the authorise that develop policy in areas that effect its members.

Professor Mohammad Taherzadeh | Andreas Shimkus

Professor Mohammad Taherzadeh from the University of Borås in Sweden travelled to Victoria to deliver a paper on a solution for textile waste that would otherwise go to landfill.
In 2007, under the tutelage of Prof. Taherzadeh, PhD students began to look at the possibilities of producing ethanol and biogas from textile waste. The research found a method to produce half a kilo of ethanol from a kilo of denim. Prof. Taherzadeh’s research is being considered by waste management authorities all over the world.

Andreas Shimkus from the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia presented confronting figures on imports of clothing into Australia and the effects of mass customisation. Imports of clothing are flooding the country bringing prices down and reducing the quality of donated goods. Delegates were taken aback by the staggering increase of 523% for dresses imported into Australia in a short six years. Andreas also reported that the amazing amount of 1,311 containers of T shirts that are imported to Australia annually – all grist for charitable recyclers.
The devastation and scale of the Victorian bushfires was for most of us beyond our comprehension. With the tragic loss of 173 people, the destruction of 2029 homes from 78 communities, the scale of the relief that had to be provided had never been seen before. Plans and contingencies were inadequate given the unprecedented scale of the disaster. However charitable organizations were providing assistance within hours. With resources already stretched because of the economic downturn, matching the goods with the needs of the people and delivering them was one of the greatest challenges. It was not just the scale of the disaster that was unprecedented, but also the public response. To that end, day two of the conference explored the role of the charitable recycling organizations during times of crisis.

Michael Raper

Michael Raper, Director of Services and International Operations for the Red Cross, opened the second day of the NACRO conference. Michael’s address on the role the Red Cross played in the Victorian Bushfires relief effort informed delegates that that over 1,000 Red Cross people were involved in the response, providing practical and emotional support through 20 relief centres. Michael reported that over 200,000 meals were served and over 5,000 first aid treatments administered.

Following Michael’s address was Betsy Harrington of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction & Recovery Authority.