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Learn about our national mission to reduce plastic waste through industry-led research and collaboration.
More than 120 SPW CRC Partners, Associates, Project Parties and invited guests came together in Brisbane from Wednesday 19 to Friday 21 August for the SPW CRC Annual Partners Conference 2026, committed to growing Australia’s circular economy for plastics.
Across the three-day program, 125 attendees from industry, research, government and the wider plastics value chain shared progress from across the SPW CRC, strengthened connections and explored the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Explore the conference highlights below or jump to a section:
Connecting Research with Industry
The conference began on Wednesday evening with a Welcome Reception at Emporium Hotel South Bank, where SPW CRC Chair Dr Leonie Walsh and Griffith University Vice President (Industry and External Engagement) Prof Bronwyn Harch welcomed delegates.
Bronwyn reflected on the strength of the partnership behind the SPW CRC and the value of bringing research, industry, government and end users together around complex challenges. She encouraged delegates to deepen relationships, test ideas and sharpen priorities, setting the tone for the conference ahead.
Thursday began with a Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country from Dr Leonie Walsh, before SPW CRC CEO Paul Hodgson reinforced the SPW CRC’s mission to deliver high-impact, industry-driven research outcomes that accelerate the transformation of how plastics are designed, manufactured, used, recovered and recycled, and how microplastic soil pollution is remediated.
“We will only achieve our mission by providing opportunities for collaboration across the plastics value chain. It was inspiring to bring the whole SPW CRC community together to share, learn and build new connections and ideas that can lead to practical outcomes.”
– Paul Hodgson, CEO, SPW CRC
ARRC Gold Coast CEO Grant Gabriel then delivered the keynote, Waste Is Changing. So Must We., challenging delegates to rethink traditional approaches to waste and consider the systems, infrastructure and collaboration required as Australia moves towards a more circular economy.
The focus then turned to the SPW CRC’s four Research Programs: Materials and Design, Recovery and Recycling, Circular Economy and Microplastics.
Each session moved from the challenge being tackled to 3-Minute Project Updates and industry-led panel discussions exploring what the research means in practice.
Roundtable discussions then invited delegates to explore responsibility for reducing plastic consumption and managing materials at end of life; barriers and opportunities in plastics recovery and recycling; enablers for a carbon-neutral circular economy; and how Australia can better understand and respond to microplastics in the environment.
Together, the format moved from why the research matters to what the SPW CRC is doing, what it means in practice, and what needs to happen next, creating space to identify connections, opportunities and gaps.
SPW CRC Industry Researchers in the Spotlight
SPW CRC Industry Researchers (PhD Students and Postdoctoral Researchers) showcased 31 research posters across the four Research Programs.
Four researchers were recognised at the Conference Dinner for outstanding and commendable poster presentations:
Postdoctoral Researchers
- Outstanding: Dr Apeksha Goswami, University of New South Wales – Plastic on our plate? Mapping Micro- and Nanoplastic in Australian Foods
- Commendable: Dr Amanda Dawson, Griffith University – Developing Standard Protocols to Extract and Quantify Microplastics from Soil and Compost
PhD Students
- Outstanding: Sandy Behrens, CQUniversity – Closing the Loop on Soft Plastics: From Pyrolysis Oil Quantity to Quality
- Commendable: KC Kasturi, University of Technology Sydney – Designing a Reduction Pathway for Soft Plastics in Australia
From Plastic Pollution to Practical Action
Conference Dinner guest speaker and Eco Barge Clean Seas founder Libby Edge shared her inspiring story, The Plastic Problem in Paradise, recounting how her personal response to marine debris in the Whitsundays grew into Eco Barge Clean Seas and its work across clean-up, recycling, education, conservation and community engagement.
The dinner also gave delegates an opportunity to continue conversations, make new connections and build relationships across the SPW CRC community.
Looking at Plastics Through Agriculture and Packaging
Friday opened with Claire Andersen, Executive Director of the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling within Queensland’s Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, sharing Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035: Queensland Waste Strategy and the state’s direction on waste and resource recovery.
Two extended panel discussions then focused on sectors where plastics play an important and complex role.
The Agriculture and Plastics panel brought together perspectives spanning farming, horticulture, livestock and research to explore how plastic use is evolving and the priorities that need to be tackled collectively by 2030.
The Packaging and Plastics panel explored challenges spanning recyclability, recycled content, soft plastics, compostable packaging, collection systems, consumer behaviour, regulation and product design. Panellists also considered where investment is most needed and the research, knowledge and capability gaps slowing progress across the packaging value chain.
Meet the Agriculture and Plastics and Packaging and Plastics panellists.
Bringing the SPW CRC Community Together
Across the three days, the conference gave the SPW CRC community an opportunity to connect beyond individual projects and Research Programs, strengthening existing relationships and giving attendees greater visibility of research underway across the SPW CRC.
New connections were made across the conference, opening opportunities for further collaboration across projects, programs and organisations.
“No single organisation, sector or government can solve this challenge alone. Through settings like this conference, the SPW CRC is demonstrating how it is uniquely positioned to collaborate across the plastics value chain, address skills and research gaps, support new manufacturing opportunities and contribute to reducing plastics going to landfill.”
– Dr Leonie Walsh, Chair, SPW CRC
Circular thinking was also incorporated into the event through reusable Cercle cups, connecting the conference with the PhD research of SPW CRC Industry Researcher Katie Barton-Harvey. Read more about Katie’s research and how the cups were used across the conference.
Thank you to everyone who attended, contributed to the program, joined the discussions and helped bring the SPW CRC Annual Partners Conference 2026 together.
The conference may have concluded in Brisbane, but the conversations continue, with the focus now on building these connections and identifying new opportunities to deliver impact across Australia’s plastics value chain.
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We acknowledge the traditional custodians across all the lands on which we live and work, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We recognise that these lands and waters have always been places of teaching, research and learning.
