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University of Sydney students tackle medical waste challenge for REMONDIS
REMONDIS Australia // 10 January 2025
REMONDIS recently collaborated with University of Sydney students as part of an ICPU challenge
The challenge? Enabling sustainable medical and clinical waste disposal from facilities such as hospitals, GP clinics, tattoo parlors and other health service providers
Solutions included the use of digital app-based systems for waste handling, new logistical approaches and education platforms to promote best practices within the industry
INNOVATION
This article originally appeared at sydney.edu.au, and is reproduced here with editing for context.
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At the University of Sydney, Industry and Community Project Units (ICPU) enable students to tackle real-world challenges, including collaborating with REMONDIS Australia on innovative solutions for sustainable medical waste management.
This collaboration is part of the University’s Industry and Community Project Units (ICPUs) which offers students the chance to work on real-world challenges provided by industry, community and government organisations. In collaboration with an industry partner and an academic lead, students from diverse disciplines come together to research, analyse and propose solutions to issues assigned by the external partner.
Students are working with REMONDIS to address the challenge of medical and clinical waste disposal from facilities such as hospitals, pharmacists, GP clinics, tattoo parlours and a range of other health service providers.
Sustainable medical waste processing is a significant challenge in Australia, which lags behind other parts of the world in this area. Local businesses do not always have the right expertise or systems in place. Estimates from 180 Waste Group indicate that Australia produces over 42,000 tonnes of clinical waste each year. The methods used to dispose of this waste have significant environmental consequences, including greenhouse gas emissions from incineration, pollution from landfills, and the risk of contaminating water and soil.
The students are seeking practical and scalable solutions to waste management issues, which include disposal methods, logistical challenges and opportunities for operational improvement.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to apply their skills and creativity to a real-world business challenge," said Kirsten Andrews, the University's Vice-President (External Engagement). "Not only does it give them invaluable practical experience, but the solutions they develop have the potential to drive meaningful change in an important industry."
April Browne, the project’s academic lead, said such partnerships helped prepare graduates to thrive in an evolving workplace.
“This is an opportunity for students to gain experience in an environment that supports them to develop their capability through structured learning and reflection,” Ms. Browne said.
Students in the unit have worked on a range of solutions targeting different industries that generate medical waste, from aged care facilities and dentistry to veterinary science. Their solutions include the use of digital app-based systems for waste handling, new logistical approaches and education platforms to promote best practices within the industry.
Senior Executive Leadership from REMONDIS Australia, including Chief Operating Officer Alex Hatherly and Business Development Manager Mike Arnold, has been actively involved in the project.
Reflecting on the partnership, REMONDIS leadership shared that the collaboration has allowed them to consider new fresh perspectives and challenge existing processes. “Working closely with the dedicated students from the University of Sydney has exceeded our expectations in terms of creativity and development proficiency,” said the REMONDIS team. “We are looking forward to diving deeper into the students’ diverse suite of ideas.”
Zeina Khochaiche, a third-year student of Bachelor of Arts (Project Management) participating in the program, said: “Working directly with REMONDIS has given us the opportunity to tackle a complex, real-world issue. This unit has contributed to my skills, encouraged me to be agile, and taught me to work in a fast-paced environment and work in a diverse team”
“These experiences enable students to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice far earlier in their career, supporting their employability and perhaps more importantly, their capability to be reflective, lifelong learners in the workplace”, Ms. Browne said.
Here Mike Arnold reflects on the program and collaboration with the University of Sydney.
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How has your experience been so far with this partnership with University of Sydney?
The collaboration with the University of Sydney has been of tremendous value to us. Working closely with their dedicated students has enabled us to consider new perspectives, challenge existing processes and industry standards – with the potential for creating new value for our customers. The presented approaches have exceeded our expectations in terms of creativity, quality and development proficiency, especially considering the time frame. We are looking forward to diving deeper into the students’ diverse suite of ideas.
Something I find quite interesting and fantastic is the constellation of the participants. There are 46 participants in total, coming from studies in Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Science, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, Medicine and Health, and Engineering.
How do you see the ICPU program preparing the next generation of workforce?
From an industry perspective, the ICPU program appears to provide an excellent opportunity for advanced students to not only apply their training and knowledge in a very intensive program with a challenging assignment under typical market conditions, but also to explore a range of segments and companies. In our experience, the participating students had to familiarise themselves with new subjects quickly, collaborate in groups, get to the root of the challenge we presented and then develop creative solutions to effectively address it. As consequence, the program acts as a valuable complement to the students’ academic training, preparing students well for future careers.
How important it is for REMONDIS to implement sustainable solutions to waste management?
Sustainability is both our corporate purpose and philosophy. With our core expertise in recycling and recovery, we make a significant contribution to conserving raw materials worldwide and reducing climate and environmental damage caused by the extraction of primary raw materials. But that's not all: we are also active everywhere else where it is important to preserve our planet and its resources for future generations. The fact is: current climate protection projects and limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees can only be achieved with the circular economy in general and REMONDIS in particular.
Hence, consistently developing and implementing sustainable solutions is not only important but crucial for REMONDIS. As a leading international company in the circular economy with around 1000 locations on three continents, we help to conserve resources and make them available in a sustainable manner almost everywhere in the world. In addition to establishing standardised processes – first and foremost in the area of waste treatment – we are also involved in various flagship projects with which we are setting a strong example. These range from diaper and coffee capsule recycling in the Netherlands to the recovery of ferrous and non-ferrous metals from waste incineration slag in Singapore – a project for which we received the Asia Green Business Award. In addition, there are innovative milestones such as the phosphorus recycling and lightweight packaging sorting plants built in Germany, which can have a climate and resource-saving effect anywhere in the world thanks to technology transfer.
Working together, we believe we can achieve a more sustainable future – a future in which waste is a resource.
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