Recycling has become part of the daily routine for many of us, but are the processes in place as effective as they could be? Many of the items we consider recyclable can be difficult to recycle where we live. How do we make recycling the foundation of manufacturing? Or should the focus be on the material chemists to create more sustainable materials? We speak with Professor Veena Sahajwalla, scientist at the University of New South Wales, Australia, to discuss a future where recycling anything is possible, and how chemistry is crucial in helping us get there.

Intro [00:00]

Meet the hosts [02:54]

Recycling background [04:29]

About the episode [06:54]

Meet the guests [07:38]

Interview [08:28]

The Breakdown [35:38]

The Expert Test [37:48]

Conclusion [40:59]

Professor Veena Sahajwalla

Professor Veena Sahajwalla is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer, and inventor revolutionising recycling science. She is renowned for pioneering the high temperature transformation of waste in the production of a new generation of ‘green materials’ at the UNSW Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre, in Australia, where she is Founding Director. Professor Veena is the inventor of polymer injection technology, known as green steel, an eco-friendly process for using recycled tyres in steel production. In 2018, she launched the world's first e-waste MICROfactorieTM and in 2019 she launched her plastics and Green Ceramics MICROfactoriesTM, a recycling technology breakthrough. Professor Veena is the director of the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for ‘microrecycling’, and is the Leader of the national Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub. In 2021, she featured in the ABC’s Australian Story and was named the 2022 NSW Australian of the Year in recognition of her work. She was also named the 2022 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes winner for the Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) Clunies Ross Innovation Award. In 2023, Professor Veena was awarded the Engineering Australia Chemical College Chemical Engineer Achievement Award and the Good Design 2023 Women in Design Award.

Producer: Shazia Ur-Rehman (CTVC)

Content Producer: Stevie Strowman (CTVC)

Hosts: Mariama Ifode-Blease and Samuel Dada

Guest: Professor Veena Sahajwalla

Guest student: William Terry-Wright

Writer: Alastair Collinson (CTVC)

Researchers: William Terry-Wright, Bairavee R T Ravindran

Sound mixer: Pat Pretorius (CTVC)

Cover Art: Sam Osbourne

The Salters’ Institute

UNSW Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre

ABC's Australian Story on Professor Veena