Melbourne, Australia: Cleaner Production and Circular Economy Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of cleaner production and circular economy practices in Melbourne, Australia. It begins with an overview of Melbourne, highlighting its environmental challenges, including climate change impacts, pollution, and waste generation. The report then explores the potential benefits of adopting cleaner production and circular economy principles, such as reduced pollution, resource conservation, and sustainable development. It details the steps undertaken by the Australian government and local organizations to promote these practices, including waste management policies and initiatives. The report also showcases success stories, such as Walmart's circular economy efforts, and discusses the challenges and barriers to implementing these practices, including employee resistance and high implementation costs. Overall, the report aims to provide a scientific publication on the current environmental state of Melbourne and the strategies being employed to foster a more sustainable future.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................4
1. About...................................................................................................................................................4
2. Current environmental issues...............................................................................................................4
3. Potential benefits of cleaner production and circular economy............................................................4
4. Steps undertaken for cleaner production and circular economy practices............................................4
5. Success stories in respect of cleaner production and circular economy...............................................4
6. Challenges and barriers to implementing cleaner production and circular economy...........................4
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Australia is a country having several environmental issues like the climatic crisis,
overgrazing, overfishing, loss of biodiversity, high levels of pollution, waste generation and poor
governance on the part of the authority. There are some regions and cities of the country that are
even worst affected by these environmental problems. This report shall be discussing the current
scenario of Melbourne, the city in Australia. Apart from that it shall be highlighting the potential
benefits that can be caused by following the techniques like the circular economy and cleaner
production. It shall also be showing the steps that are undertaken in these practices and also the
challenges that are faced in the incorporation of the plan.
MAIN BODY
1. About
Melbourne is the city in the state Victoria of the country Australia. It is located on the
Southeastern coast at the head Port Philip Bay. It is a metropolitan area which has highly
developed infrastructure but are lacking in the proper measures for the protection of the
environment. They have alarming conditions due to the climatic changes and severe droughts in
the locality that are leading to the restrictive water supply (Kirchherr, Reike and Hekkert, 2017).
Also the carbon emissions impacting the climate of the country are brought down to the zero
level. Dredging is also one such problem that is faced in the city where the marine life is affected
by the pollution, heavy metal and the industrial sediments.
2. Current environmental issues
The current environmental conditions in Melbourne shows that it is facing tough times in
respect deteriorating beauty of the nature resulting in harming the living as well as non-living
things in the surrounding environment. One of the major issues are the river pollution that is
taking place through poor septic systems, E-coli bacteria, cigarette butts etc. Various measures
are being taken so that the contamination of the water bodies in the city could be prevented by
the government (Morseletto, 2020).
Apart from that the other major concern is related to the climatic conditions of the place
and the extremities that are related to it. The summers are warm, autumns are moderate and the
winters are cool, these are the basic conditions. But since the emissions of carbon, deforestation,
clearance of the land etc. are the reasons for the extreme drought conditions with poor water
supply.
Also the environment protection authority has governed that the pollution levels and the
waste generation levels in the city are high and is at the alarming rate spoiling the whole
environment. This is impacting the public health of the inhabitants in the city through the odor,
poor air quality, climatic change etc.
In the present scenario the awareness as to the negative impact has also spread and
because of that they are successfully applying some techniques to improve the conditions and
develop the city into a healthy place to live. Circular economy is among one of such initiatives
that has been taken so that sustainably the environment is protected and the future generations
can get the access to these scarce natural resources.

3. Potential benefits of cleaner production and circular economy
Cleaner production in respect of a city is an initiative that is taken to build the cleaner and
better products and the production processes. This is an approach that can be used by the specific
entities so that the production and manufacturing are undertaken with utmost care towards the
surrounding environment. The processes can be optimized in a manner that the natural resources
are not exploited, harmful chemical effluents are not released in the environment, minimizing the
level of the waste generation and its proper disposal.
This technique of the cleaner production can also be effective in developing Melbourne, a
city in Australia sustainably to reduce the risk for both the humans and the environment
(Kirchherr and et.al., 2018). The major environmental issues that are faced in the city like higher
pollution levels, disposal of the non-biodegradable wastes and the climate change due to the
carbon emissions. These all problems can be solved if the production and the processes are built
accordingly to lead to environmental protection.
Another conceptual technique that can be used to protect and prosper the environment is
the circular economy (Sustainability for Melbourne. 2021). This concept is based on the fact that
the waste generation can be minimized by continuous reusing and regenerating of the resources
in the environment. This shall also be tackling the issue of scarcity of the finite resources. The
production and the consumption of the goods and services are designed in a manner where the
possibility of the reuse, recycle and regenerative approach is possible. This can especially take
place in the use of plastic which is a non-biodegradable waste and should be reused so that the
wastages are minimized.
This can also lead to the potential benefits that are caused to the environmental
surroundings of Melbourne as this shall minimize the levels of pollution that are caused by the
repetitive productions cycles of the goods and services (Prieto-Sandoval, Jaca and Ormazabal,
2018). It also emphasizes on the protection of the natural resources which are scarce with the use
of alternatives. This will be solving the dual purposes one is that the current needs shall not be
compromised and the other is that the future needs will be met through the sustainable
development.
4. Steps undertaken for cleaner production and circular economy practices
The Australian government in order to safeguard the local communities in Melbourne and
all over Australia has taken serious actions in respect of the activities that are contributing to the
deterioration of the environment. They have made investments in order to build the circular
economy and so that the innovative solutions can be derived for incorporating the sustainable
development. One major step is taken regarding the national waste and recycling management
policies of the country (Korhonen, Honkasalo and Seppälä, 2018). All the players across the
industry and the wide supply chains have collaborated to take initiative in respect of waste
management and building a better infrastructure for the coming tomorrow.
The plastic pact taken by the government, organizations and the individuals is one of the
moves towards a clean and green society in the future. Another important action is taken in
respect of the regenerative policy design of the products and services that are offered to the

customers. The scarce resources of the economy stays in the continuous production cycle. In this
the goods change one form to other but stays in the rotation through the process of recycling ad
reusing the products. The policy to generate the energy from the wastes is another innovation to
successfully build the model of circular economy (Climate change impacts on Melbourne, 2021).
This shall solve the dual purpose of the management one id the protection of the environment
and the other is sustainable development by producing energy from the abundant resources.
Some actions are also taken regarding ensuring the cleaner production policy in the city
Melbourne. This is majorly developing techniques to either reduce pollution or to effectively that
the same so that the impacts are not caused on the environment.
5. Success stories in respect of cleaner production and circular economy
The technique of circular economy has been successfully executed by the governmental
authorities and the various organizations in many countries who were prior facing the difficulties
in relation to environment and its sustainability. Among many of the success stories representing
circular economy, one of them is by Walmart the largest retailer in USA. They have been
implementing this in its internal system from long time. They have contributed by reusing the
existing products in a regenerative manner (Moraga and et.al., 2019). The refrigerators in the
business which are damaged and are not in working condition, are reused in the form of
removing the salvageable parts and using them in the repair and maintenance work of the
company. Apart from that the icing buckets are collected to recycle them further.
Another example that can be quoted is the Italian small and medium business units that
are applying this technique in order to determine the sustainable and risk free development of the
country and its economy. Apart from that it can be assessed that the major focus of the company
lies on the management of waste, avoiding the use of plastic in packaging and the designing a
value oriented supply chain.
These examples can be referred to know that how the application of the environmental
friendly principles helps in the growth and development of the economy and also shape the
future of the nation.
6. Challenges and barriers to implementing cleaner production and circular economy
The major challenges and the barriers that may be faced by the businesses is due to
motivating the employees for incorporating a change in the organization as they are usually
resisting the change. Apart from that the major challenge is to generate awareness among the
various participants of the business about the growing environmental concerns that are there in
the society (Rajput, S. and Singh, S. P., 2019). The incurring of huge costs in the research and
the application of these techniques is also one of the barriers that shall be governing the
implementation of the plans.
The amended business model that is followed by the company is not necessarily applied
by all the businesses and trade partners that are there in the supply chain. The enforcement and

the management of this within the supply chains also forms as a challenge that is to be met by
the company (Zink & Geyer, 2017). Another important issue is that the inefficiencies that are
there in the existing employees to work with the improved or modified systems of the company.
The challenging task is to make them well confronted with the technological advancements so
that the wear and tear and the wastage of resources can be avoided.
CONCLUSION
It can be summarized from the above project that environment and its sustainability has
became the major issue nowadays because it has been causing alarming threats to the society and
its inhabitants. There are several human errors behind these issues and their root causes. The
government and the various participants at the industry level are trying to minimize the impact of
these issues with the help of initiatives like the circular economy and the cleaner production.
There are also some of the barriers that are faced and are tackled so that the negligible impact
can be felt on the economy and its prosperity.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Kirchherr, J., Reike, D., & Hekkert, M. (2017). Conceptualizing the circular economy: An
analysis of 114 definitions. Resources, conservation and recycling. 127. 221-232.
Morseletto, P. (2020). Targets for a circular economy. Resources, Conservation and
Recycling. 153. 104553.
Kirchherr, J., Piscicelli, L., Bour, R., Kostense-Smit, E., Muller, J., Huibrechtse-Truijens, A., &
Hekkert, M. (2018). Barriers to the circular economy: evidence from the European Union
(EU). Ecological Economics. 150. 264-272.
Prieto-Sandoval, V., Jaca, C., & Ormazabal, M. (2018). Towards a consensus on the circular
economy. Journal of cleaner production. 179. 605-615.
Korhonen, J., Honkasalo, A., & Seppälä, J. (2018). Circular economy: the concept and its
limitations. Ecological economics. 143. 37-46.
Hartley, K., van Santen, R., & Kirchherr, J. (2020). Policies for transitioning towards a circular
economy: Expectations from the European Union (EU). Resources, Conservation and
Recycling. 155. 104634.
Zink, T., & Geyer, R. (2017). Circular economy rebound. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 21(3).
593-602.
Online
Climate change impacts on Melbourne. 2021. [Online] Available through: <
https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-council/vision-goals/eco-city/Pages/adapting-to-
climate-change.aspx >
Sustainability for Melbourne. 2021. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-melbourne/sustainability/Pages/sustainability-for-
melbourne.aspx>