Once an afterthought, waste management now sits at the heart of sustainable development. When it’s considered early in the development process, effective waste planning shapes how buildings function, how communities operate, and how we meet rising sustainability targets.
Our waste team brings together strategic thinking, technical expertise, and on-the-ground experience across residential, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects nationwide. We work across the entire project lifecycle – from master planned communities to retrofitting existing facilities – helping clients navigate compliance while designing systems that work.
Leo has over 16 years of experience in waste management and environmental consulting, leading over 2,000 waste management and resource recovery projects across residential, mixed-use, commercial, sports, education, aged care, healthcare, industrial and urban renewal developments nationally.
Q: Can you walk us through the full range of waste services Ratio offers?
A: We work across the entire project lifecycle, keeping the big picture in mind on day-to-day projects. At the strategic level, we’ve prepared circular economy reports for Australian communities and planned waste strategies for entirely new cities with a population of 250,000 people – thinking through everything from access points and land use to waste infrastructure and resource recovery.
Most of our work is preparing waste management plans for development applications – hospitals, schools, residential towers – but we bring strategic thinking to every project. Right now, we’re reviewing waste operations for a national education provider across all their Australian campuses. It’s never too late to divert more from landfill!
Another key area for us is construction, which has evolved significantly. We plan for the reuse of structures and materials that already have embedded carbon. Recently, we worked on a 500-hectare solar farm, creating strategies for packaging, panel reuse, and future decommissioning.
Q: When should developers be considering engaging waste management experts?
A: The earlier the better, because the later you go into the process, the more costly changes become. Vehicle access is a good example as there’s no standard waste collection vehicle in Australia. A few years back in Melbourne, a waste collector started using smaller trucks for basements. Within months, architects were designing access only for those vehicles, but they only service metropolitan Melbourne. If your development is in regional Victoria, or interstate, you will have completely different requirements.
Mitchell has over seven years of experience delivering Waste Management Plans across Australia. He’s passionate about practical, forward-thinking waste planning and design that balances sustainability, compliance, and real-world functionality.
Q: What waste solutions can only be achieved if you’re involved early in the design process?
A: Engaging us early means we can work with architects before key elements like building cores, basement layouts, and loading docks are locked in. Early coordination allows us to incorporate waste systems such as automatic bin rotation equipment, chute systems with correct vertical alignment to minimise blockages, and compactors that require specific ceiling heights and services. It also helps ensure bin rooms are located sensibly next to the building core and that user circulation routes work efficiently. These solutions are much harder to retrofit later, and they’re often essential for achieving good operational outcomes and meeting Council requirements.
Q: What’s a recent waste challenge you’ve solved?
A: I recently worked on a project where the design was largely finalised before we came onboard, and the bin room footprint was very small for high waste-generating uses like food and beverage outlets. To make the space work, we recommended a mechanical bin press to compact general waste, and a baler to manage cardboard more efficiently by reducing it into dense bales that take up far less room. These solutions helped us accommodate the expected waste volumes within the constrained footprint, while also reducing collection frequency and long-term operational costs. For me, it’s about finding the best possible outcome for all stakeholders when a redesign isn’t feasible.
Lachy has eight years’ experience in leading waste management consulting teams for a range of developments. He has been involved in waste management solutions for some of the largest developments in Australia, including many high-rise buildings, shopping centres including Chadstone and Eastland, stadiums, housing estates and healthcare developments.
Q: How does waste planning differ across building types?
A: Waste volumes and streams vary hugely. High-rise towers need careful chute design to avoid blockages. Shopping centres often have big transportable compactors, so we’re designing loading docks for efficient truck access. Hospitals have medical waste and cross-contamination risks, so clean and dirty bins are completely segregated. Subdivisions are about designing roads to accommodate council collection vehicles.
Q: Can you share an example where thinking creatively unlocked a better outcome?
A: An existing development I worked on had height restrictions in the loading dock and their usual waste compactor wouldn’t fit. Switching to bins would significantly blow out long-term costs given their waste volumes. I worked with equipment suppliers to design a custom compactor, then worked with their waste contractor on a cost-benefit analysis. The custom unit paid for itself within a year, compared with the ongoing costs of bin collection. We also collaborated with our transport team to confirm truck access within the tight space.
Mario has over 8 years’ experience in the environmental industry both in Australia and abroad. He specialises in waste minimisation, circular economy programs, and environmental compliance.
Q: What are you considering when designing a waste management plan for industrial projects?
A: When designing a waste management plan for industrial projects, you’re not just thinking about bin placement or collection vehicle access – though that’s still important. We’re managing huge volumes of waste, often hazardous or difficult to dispose of.
Take data centres. They generate standard staff waste like general rubbish and recycling, but they also need systems for recovering and disposing of large amounts of electronics and hardware at end of life. This waste might be managed yearly rather than weekly, but it needs to be considered in the design from the start. Where will servers, storage drives, and batteries be stored? And how can we recover those components down the track?
Q: What innovative waste solutions are you seeing in industry right now?
A: One of the biggest problems with operational waste management is tracking performance. Like most industries, we’re seeing a lot of conversation and exploration around using AI in waste management. We’re interested in AI as a potential solution to audit bin contents; currently, you must go on site, empty bins, weigh everything, produce a report; it’s labour-intensive and expensive. If you could just take a photo of the contents and have an AI tool estimate the data, you could track daily or weekly performance much easier. We’re keeping tabs on how AI in waste is progressing and how we might be able to apply those technologies in the future.
Wendy specialises in best practice waste management principles aligned with council and state regulations. She works on residential, multi-level and mixed-use commercial developments, focusing on solutions that create more sustainable and circular communities.
Q: Why is community engagement important for waste management systems?
A: To successfully roll out a waste strategy, you need engagement – otherwise, you’re just telling people what to do. We recently worked with an education provider across multiple campuses, meeting with council, cleaners, staff, and students. They already had some good practices, so our role was encouraging them to formalise those systems and build on what was working. You also get to hear what’s practical and what’s not. Community engagement ensures the solutions we propose will work in reality.
Q: What does “zero waste community” mean in practice?
A: It’s a circular approach instead of linear – avoid waste where possible, then reuse and recycle. It might look like borrowing a vacuum cleaner from your neighbour instead of buying a new one or using the bags you already have instead of buying plastic bags. It extends to shopping second-hand for clothing and getting creative with sharing tools and resources within a community. The goal isn’t necessarily producing zero waste – that’s not realistic – but designing systems and encouraging behaviours that minimise waste at every opportunity.
With expertise across strategic waste planning, technical design, and community engagement, we understand how to deliver waste systems that work for everyone.
Ready to discuss your project? Connect with our waste team at mail@ratio.com.au
