This focus area supports South Australia’s goal to double its circularity rate by 2035. Circularity measures how much of the materials used in the economy are recycled or reused, replacing the need for virgin resources.
Why it matters
Developing strong markets for recycled materials and circular businesses creates demand for recycling operations and ensures their commercial sustainability. It encourages investment in new products, processing capacity, and diversified business models. Effective product stewardship schemes further strengthen these markets, enabling more materials to be recirculated and supporting a sustainable, innovative, and resilient circular economy in South Australia.
Objectives for 2030
- Reduce the use of virgin resources
- Maximise resource efficiency in production and consumption
- Increase end markets for recovered resources
- Prioritise recycled content products and materials in procurement processes
- Boost economic growth and generate more circular economy businesses and jobs
How we’ll get there
Procurement
Public procurement can drive sustainable markets by creating demand for recycled and circular products. South Australia’s $8.5 billion state government and $1 billion local government annual procurement spend offers a powerful opportunity to lead by example, support circular economy markets, and reduce environmental impacts, though coordinated whole-of-government action and procurement support are needed.
Key actions
- Develop and implement a South Australian whole-of-government approach to environmentally sustainable public procurement, within the SA Government Procurement Framework, that aims to improve environmental sustainability across the key areas of climate, the environment and circularity.
- Encourage the development and implementation of environmentally sustainable procurement policies and practices (including internal measurement and reporting against performance indicators) across local government.
- Consider alignment and collaboration opportunities between local governments.
- Encourage and support South Australian businesses to adopt and implement ESG and environmentally sustainable procurement policies and practices, including through education and awareness raising.
- Support the implementation of environmentally sustainable procurement in state and local government through education, awareness raising, addressing barriers and sharing of knowledge.
Research and innovation
Innovation is essential to advance the circular economy, from designing products for reuse and recycling to developing new recovery methods, markets, business models, and digital solutions. Collaborative efforts across research, industry, and business are needed to drive innovation at all stages, from early development to commercialisation and ongoing improvement.
Key actions
- Encourage and support research and innovation that supports circular economy outcomes through technologies, circular business models and circular design and production.
- Foster innovation and encourage collaboration among businesses and organisations, for example through industrial symbiosis or circular ecosystems, that:
- enables shared resource use
- improves value chains
- creates closed loops of resource use and waste management
- creates new markets for recycled materials.
Circular businesses
The business sector is essential to the transition to a circular economy, as design and production decisions determine resource use and waste. Circular practices offer environmental benefits, cost savings, supply chain resilience, and new market opportunities. Collaboration – through supply chains or circular ecosystems – can turn waste into resources, creating closed loops. Businesses of all sizes need tailored support and investment to adopt circular models, improve material productivity, and capture value sustainably.
Key actions
- Support implementation of the National Framework for Recycled Content Traceability to boost business confidence in, and demand for, recycled content by increasing the amount of information available on these materials and to reinforce circular practices across the supply chain.
- Advocate for the development of national policy mechanisms that enable and encourage the use of domestic recycled materials in place of virgin inputs.
- Consider measures, including consideration of legislative or economic levers, that provide a level playing field for businesses with circular business models and support local market development for remanufactured products.
- Invest in activities that achieve high circularity outcomes, support market development for circular products and services, and the establishment of circular precincts.
- Identify and support priority industries and sectors that require assistance to improve sustainability and circular outcomes, and increase market uptake.
- Encourage and support South Australian businesses to increase material productivity by adopting lean manufacturing and resource efficiency practices and embedding circular principles and practices in business operations.
- Encourage South Australian businesses to transition their value creation models and networks from a linear to a circular framework through adopting ISO 59010:2024 Circular economy — Guidance on the transition of business models and value networks.
Learn more about Focus area 5: Develop and support circular markets and businesses.
