Our Community Vision speaks to how important our environment is to the community. We aspire together, community and Council to protect our environment. The environment is the focal point of Focus Area One: A resilient, sustainable and protected environment. We aim to be a responsive, adaptive and resilient community that addresses changes to our climate and biodiversity.

This project explores the potential for a Circular Economy in Hepburn Shire community and is a key component of expanding Hepburn Z-NET to include the integration of the Circular Economy. This project takes a practical approach to understanding, mapping and actioning the opportunities presented by the Circular Economy for the Shire. This will enable more local people and businesses to find opportunities to collaborate, helping to build a more economically strong, sustainable and resilient community. This project ran from August 2022 to February 2023 and is Stage 1 of informing a Circular Economy Roadmap for Hepburn Shire.

Whilst this project will use global best practice in Circular Economy knowledge, the real value is applying it to local business, with local institutions and local people and generating real outcomes. Take a few moments to familiarise yourself with the ideas and concepts associated with the Circular Economy. We have provided some short video links and explanations that both define and describe the key definitions and models.

The community participated in a number of activities associated with this project:

Step One: We asked local sole traders and businesses to fill in the Circular Economy Snapshot Survey.

Step Two: Businesses were invited to attend an Introduction to the Circular Economy webinar hosted on Tuesday 27 September 2022. See the video below.

Step 3: Hepburn Shire businesses attended a Circular Economy group workshop on Monday 7 November 2022.

Please note that data collected throughout this engagement process was captured and stored in line with Hepburn Energy's Privacy Statement. For more information see the Privacy Policy in the Document Library.

The Hepburn Circular Economy Activation Recommendations Report & Case Studies identifies areas of strength and areas where there are gaps in supporting the activation of a circular economy in Hepburn Shire.

The Report can be downloaded in five separate documents:

1. Circular Economy Overview
1.1 Project overview
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Project outline

2. Circular Economy Readiness Snapshot
2.1 Circular Economy Readiness Survey
2.2 Circular Economy Readiness Snapshot

3. Local Circular Economy Case Studies
3.1 Overview
3.2 Case Studies

4. Circular Economy Business Workshop
4.1 Introduction to Circular Economy Presentation
4.2 Circular Economy for Business Workshop

5. Circular Economy Findings and Recommendations
Key findings and recommendations Road Map and Next Steps Recommendations.
Circular Nodes - Pilot 1 Recommendations.
Circular Nodes - Pilot 2 Recommendations.
Circular Nodes - Pilot 3 Conclusion and acknowledgements.
6. Appendices

Whilst we have had an opportunity to see the true value of community resilience and local supply chains as a result of the global pandemic, we must consider that we’ll have new shocks to our community and economy in the future, and continue to strengthen our local circular economy. The traditional Linear Economy is based on a ‘take, make and waste’ model developed at a time of lower global population and ‘seemingly endless natural resource’ at the start of the industrial revolution. Built in or planned obsolescence is a common trait of this model.

Looking beyond the current model, a Circular Economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. It entails gradually designing waste out of the system where possible and is underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources. The circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital.