Colorbond Coolmax steel by BlueScope Steel

Colorbond Coolmax steel reduces the heat load on a roof by reflecting more of the sun’s energy, thereby keeping the building and surrounding environment cooler. In moderate to hot climates, compared to roofing materials made from Colorbond steel in Surfmist or Zincalume steel, Colorbond Coolmax steel can reduce annual heating and cooling energy consumption by up to 15 per cent. It is the only Australian made pre-finished roofing product which incorporates the highest high solar reflectance technology.

Benefits:

• reduced need for air-conditioning

• reduced peak cooling loads on the building

• reduced heating of the local environment that can impact on other building’s air-conditioner loads and mitigate the issues that can be caused by urban heat islands

• the cooler roof keeps the entire roof system cooler and less prone to thermal stresses, which will favourably impact the lifespan of the materials that make up the roof system

Papyrus Australia by Papyrus Australia

Papyrus technology takes an otherwise unused waste material (banana tree trunk or BTT) and produces alternatives to forest wood products, such as paper and paperboard, wood based panels, veneer and other fibre products.

Benefits:

• Papyrus technology does not contribute to the destruction of natural or purpose-planted forests, potentially saving about 12 million hectares every year from destruction. It also does not require additional forest plantations to be created

• the manufacturing process does not consume any water or chemicals, requires less energy than traditional tree pulping technology and produces no chemical effluent

• during the process, water contained in the banana tree trunks is released and can be used to irrigate the banana plants in the plantation where the Papyrus technology is installed

• depending on the plant type and location, a banana plant will produce a new trunk every six to 12 months, unlike timber sources that have a long growth cycle

The Redwater Diverter by Redwater Australia

The Redwater Diverter’s primary purpose is to save water — cooled water in the hot water line is diverted when the hot tap is used. The product saves nearly 100 per cent of the potable water which would normally be wasted down the drain.

Benefits:

• permanent water conservation measure

• encourages use of tanks to save water and mostly used in conjunction with a tank

• requires no pump, therefore no electrical installation - no ongoing electricity costs

• compact design requires less material and it has reuse ability

• flexibility in application (eg. can be retrofitted)

• the concept technology is published in sealed patents in many countries

• manufactured on one site only, with sourcing of 80 per cent of parts from local suppliers

Boxer Lite Bricks by Austral Bricks

The core pattern of the Boxer Lite Bricks has been designed to reduce mortar usage over traditional highly cored bricks which exhibit high mortar seepage into the cores. Boxer Lite Bricks are recyclable and also re-useable, with all their original properties remaining intact.

Benefits:

• the bricks are manufactured utilising numerous recyclable materials, including water, recycled bricks, clay and heat

• all water used in the manufacture of Boxer Lite Bricks is collected on-site

• contains 10 per cent recycled fired brick waste

• the drying process utilises 100 per cent recycled heat

• 20 per cent less raw material is required per brick due to their increased coring, lessening the impact on natural resources, including clay and shale stockpiles

• 19 per cent reduction in diesel fuel required to deliver bricks to customers due to increased pack size resulting from the brick’s lower weight

Lady Elliot Island Hybrid Solar Power Station by Peddle Thorp Architects, Brisbane

Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort is part of the World Nature Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Despite diesel being subsidised, it was decided to proceed with the hybrid solar power station. The project shows how reliance on fossil fuel and associated ongoing high expenses in operational cost as well as the high environmental risk can be avoided.

Benefits:

• largest privately owned off-grid power system in Queensland

• system provides open interfaces, allowing further upgrade to 100 per cent renewable power

• the hybrid solar power station combines the power from a traditional generator with electric batteries and a large solar photovoltaic array for free power from the sun. Solar power is used during the day — night time loads and peak loads are supplied by battery banks

• direct financial savings through the replacement of diesel generated with solar power

Schiavello ‘E’Cycle

Schiavello re-acquires Schiavello furniture at the end of its life cycle to recycle or reuse as a way of reducing material consumption churn. The program focuses on ‘up’cycling, which involves purchasing secondhand Schiavello products from around Australia and restoring it to like new condition. The product will then be resold for less than the equivalent new product.

Benefits:

• a seamless integration of ‘e’cycled and new product for a project

• four-year product warranty

• the program is resource efficient as energy is minimised via the ‘up’cycling process and the product’s life is extended and ideally diverted from landfill

• since January 2009, around 10 major projects and numerous minor projects have been completed by Schiavello ACT, with over 1,000 workstations ‘up’cycled via the ‘e’cycle program

DrainFresh by Watersave for clean green and odourless drains by Watersave Australia

The floor grate is made of either a chrome plated brass or stainless steel both of which are recyclable materials. The DrainFresh unit consists of the floor grate with the polypropylene body attached. This means that the DrainFresh retrofit model can simply be removed from any floor grate and retrofitted into another drain or floor waste setting.

Benefits:

• made up of the floor grate in chrome plated brass or stainless steel with a polypropylene body underneath

• requires only 250ml of water to provide a perfect water seal from drain and bacterial odours beneath the floor grate

• no deodorisers are required to mask drain odours

• simple to install and simple to retrofit

• a unique patented air admittance valve ensures that the water seal cannot be sucked away by changes in air pressure within the drain system below