Waste centre leads Asia-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific region's most advanced centre for expertise in waste management will be set up at Murdoch University.

The Centre for Organic Waste Management has attracted almost half a million dollars from the State Government.

The centre, based at the Institute of Environmental Science, will receive funding over three years under the Department of Commerce and Trade's Centres of Excellence programme and will develop into a commercial operation.

The centre will advance the waste management industry in WA by providing expertise and industry-focussed research aimed at solving waste treatment problems.

WA produces about 1.25 million tonnes of organic waste a year.

The centre also will provide consultancy services and will be involved in commercialisation of intellectual property. Professional education and training courses will take advantage of the expertise of the centre's staff.

Murdoch lecturer in Waste Management and Pollution Control, Dr Harrie Hofstede has been appointed director of the centre for three years.

"The strength of the centre will be the integration of different areas of expertise in organic waste," he said.

"It will provide the best specialised expertise in the Asia-Pacific region."

Areas of expertise provided by staff include waste technology, research and training, waste treatment processes, waste systems engineering, economics of waste systems, social ecology of waste management, and product utilisation.

The centre already has a government contract to research the environmental impact of landfilled waste. It also has a consultancy contract from Environment Australia to develop a manual for alternatives to peat, as well as a contract to provide consulting and research support for a joint venture operating a large scale composting facility in WA.

Dr Hofstede will be visiting Germany soon to present two papers at an organic waste conference, finalise a collaboration agreement with a German waste research institute and make a bid to host the next conference at Murdoch.

The Department of Environmental Protection Waste Levy Trust Fund will provide $280,000 over three years to establish a lectureship in waste management for the centre at Murdoch.

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