New projects to support textile reuse, digitised recycling and green garden walls are among the 36 recipients of more than $400,000 in environmental performance grants awarded by the City of Sydney.
A project using separation technology to break down fibres in unwanted clothing and linen for reuse has been awarded $45,000.
An online platform that removes barriers to recycling by managing the entire waste process at a single location has been awarded $50,000.
And a project to nurture and increase green walls is set to receive $20,000 to develop a ‘wall-bot’ prototype to seed, weed and maintain green walls.
The ‘wall-bot’ pilot will take place at the University of Technology Sydney. It was developed by Professor Sara Wilkinson and Associate Professor Tim Schork to help overcome major challenges facing green walls.
“I’m excited to be working on a practical project that could be a game changer for green walls,” said Professor Wilkinson.
“The key challenges we face with adoption of green walls are maintenance costs and health and safety issues. Working with experts in architecture and mechatronics engineering, we believe the ‘wall-bot’ can overcome these.”
The environmental performance grants also focus on building operations and ratings and assessments to assist building owners in achieving green results for residents, businesses and the community.
A $32,000 grant will allow three high-profile commercial buildings on George Street – The Strand Arcade, the Queen Victoria Building and The Galeries – to undergo energy audits in a bid to minimise energy consumption.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said cities generate a staggering 75 to 80 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, so action in our cities is crucial to combating climate change.
“Through these grants, we are building the capacity of residents and businesses to improve environmental performance in our local area and address any barriers to these necessary changes.
“Our environmental grants program has run for more than four years contributing over $1.6 million to projects committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking practical action on climate change. I’m proud to support this new round of exciting projects in our city.”
