Product win for all
Innovative solution to keep plastic waste out of dump
A TOWNSVILLE woman has developed an innovative solution to help North Queensland businesses keep their plastic and agricultural waste out of landfills and away from the Great Barrier Reef.
After a lifetime as a sheep, wool and beef cattle producer, and more recently an African mahogany timber grower, Sandra Richards was “amazed and horrified” by the amount of waste plastic generated through farming.
“That’s especially an issue here in North Queensland, where we are next to the Great Barrier Reef, and if you put waste in the ground, it can wash down into the waterways and into the sea.
“So we needed a solution, and wanted to make something of use, using waste plastics, and also waste from timber plantations.”
Ms Richards developed a Queensland-first initiative to transform scrap hardwood and agricultural plastic waste into a durable construction product, and in 2019 founded Qplas Pty Ltd. “Our composite product is fire-resistant, waterproof, rot and termite proof, and our production is creating jobs in North Queensland – so it’s proof that if you set out to solve a problem, you can actually end up solving many,” Richards said. Qplas recently commissioned a washing and pelletising plant in North Queensland to produce wood-plastic hybrid products such as tomato stakes, survey pegs, and construction coatings.
Ms Richards recently joined seven other NQ business leaders in undertaking Cquniversity’s 12-week online social enterprise course iactivate.
Promising to guide aspiring and early-stage social entrepreneurs from idea to impact, the course is run in partnership with Smart Precinct NQ – a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the Townsville region.
“I wish I had known more about social enterprise when I started, but taking on iactivate I’ve realised Qplas really aligns with those business-forgood principles,” she said. “It’s a great course that just covers everything, and really understands the way the world is going, that we want jobs that give a social reward, and the satisfaction of being part of a better world.”
qplas.com.au