National Retail Association’s Retail Precinct Resource Recovery Project
The Queensland Government has awarded $2,250,000 to the National Retail Association (NRA) to deliver a five-year resource recovery project, termed the Retail Precinct Resource Recovery pilots, in shopping centres, quick service restaurants and retail precincts.
An estimated 112,400 tonnes (2019, National Food Waste Baseline: Final Assessment Report) of food waste is generated in Queensland retail, hospitality and food services every year. The initial focus of the project will be to reduce and divert organic waste, however the scope will include other waste streams generated in later years.
The first year of the project sought to understand the current waste management systems in place at over 50 small, medium and large shopping centres in metro and regional areas where the findings shaped the five pilots planned for 2025–2026. These pilots aim to avoid, divert and recycle organic waste in shopping centres and are:
- an Organics Knowledge Hub, to increase awareness, knowledge and willingness to consider organic waste diversion by developing, distributing and trialling a comprehensive online hub of resources informed by industry stakeholders
- a Standardised Waste Messaging Trial, to improve retailer behaviour by increasing knowledge, reducing confusion, and decreasing training time through standardised, effective communication tools
- an Organics Diversion Trial, to trial the collection and available end markets for organic waste generated at a centre
- an Organic Waste Tracking Trial, to test whether individually tracking retailer waste and engaging with retails about this improves organics diversion
- Retailer Waste Education, to reduce food waste generation by developing a suite of resources for small and medium enterprise retailers on food waste avoidance, reduction, and diversion.
The funding will enable the NRA to explore pilots and support waste reduction and recycling within the retail sector.