And That’s A Wrap – City of Newcastle Sustainnovation Challenge #2

Congratulations to the Hunter School of The Performing Arts students who took out top position for the City of Newcastle Sustainnovation Challenge #2 – How do we remove the barriers to Newcastle and Hunter Businesses recycling or using recycled products?

Their idea ‘Pub To Produce’ was inspired after chatting with Michael Starkey, local hotelier and President of the Newcastle & Hunter branch of the Australian Hotels Association NSW. Through their problem analysis session with Mick, the students were given first-hand, real-world insights into the hospitality industry’s pain points when it came to managing food waste.

The ideas were assessed by local sustainability and industry leaders and the circular and waste team from the City of Newcastle. The Pub to Produce idea stood out for the judges as it was laser-focused on the problem. It is completely #circular in its execution. It also addresses a very serious and costly challenge for the hospitality industry here in Newcastle and the Hunter region.

Talks will be starting soon with all the stakeholders to see if we can set some wheels in motion for this to jump off the pitch deck.

Other ideas that were really competitive in the challenge were: Eco-Med (Newcastle Grammar School), OfficeGreen (Merewether High School) and REBuildables (Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College)

Thanks to the industry and government partners who contributed their time to the delivery of this challenge. Elissa Klinkenberg – NSW Health, Matt Stephenson – John Holland, Trevor Stuart – Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), Bob Hawes – Business Hunter, Tim Askew – Hunter Joint Organisation, Samantha Cross – Plastic Police®, Richard Berry – Integrated Innovation Network (I2N) at The University of Newcastle, Gary Sewell – NSW Department of Education, Nathaniel Bavinton, Dr. Thomas Michel and Mark Johnson – City of Newcastle, Australia

City of Newcastle Sustainnovation Challenge #3 How does a city get ready for the future of work? It happens at the end of this month. It is shaping up to be a great challenge for the students to get their hands on!