The Hunter JO, in partnership with Lake Macquarie City Council, City of Newcastle, Central Coast Council, Go Circular and the University of Newcastle, is launching an Australian first Circular Economy tool for the Hunter region: City Scan. The Hunter Central Coast region is recognised as a proactive region and leader in driving positive change on Circular Economy, Resource Management and Climate issues. The City Scan is designed to help us better understand the potential of the region’s circular economy and identify any issues and gaps that need to be addressed through further data exploration.
The City Scan is the first of its kind in Australia. It has been developed in the Netherlands and used by cities such as Amsterdam and Prague and helps facilitate the transition from a linear economy of “make, use, waste” to a circular economy model where resources are repurposed back into communities. It presents opportunities for job creation and collaborating on the creation of a localised circular supply chain, and attracting circular economy innovation and investment into the region.
The City Scan tool enables a collaborative approach to identifying priorities and opportunities by looking at the materials that are flowing through our region, such as fly ash, food waste, water, energy, and construction waste. It then identifies the opportunities to create jobs and revenue by thinking of these materials differently – not as waste but as resources to be cycled again and again.
The resources we need for the shift to a circular economy are already in the region and there is a window of opportunity to further cement the Hunter and Central Coast as leaders in this space. The City Scan tool will provide the data needed to identify the existing material flow in the region as a resource or circular economy opportunity.
This is why we are collaborating on this project as a key to accelerating the transition to a circular economy. To address this window of opportunity and use data to create a building block and a knowledge economy that will amplify circular economy business models. This is a small but significant part of larger pieces of work being led by the region.
As part of the launch of this tool, Go Circular is hosting an online webinar to discuss the opportunities for the region and how we are building towards our vision of being the leading regional circular economy in Australia. To register your attendance for this webinar and discover how you can work with us to create an enabling ecosystem click HERE!
For more information on the City Scan tool click HERE. Check out our Circular Economy project page HERE.