And the winners of the 2019 WARR Awards are…

15 November 2019

Last night, the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) and Inside Waste magazine crowned the winners of the 2019 Waste and Resource Recovery (WARR) awards at the annual gala dinner, where the efforts and success of our essential industry were championed and celebrated.

Held at the National Maritime Museum in Sydney, more than 180 people came together to hear about the achievements of our finalists and waited with bated breath for the winners to be announced.

Now in its second year, the 2019 WARR Awards, this time a joint collaboration between WMRR and Inside Waste, proved a hit, with more than 30 independent judges reviewing a whopping 88 nominations across ten (10) categories.

“It has no doubt been a challenging year as we continue to grapple with not just the issues that exist, but the pace at which solutions are rolled out. The road ahead is still a long and tough one, which is why it’s all the more important that as an industry, we come together at events like these to celebrate our achievements and success – of which there are many, even if they are not always immediately visible,” WMRR CEO, Ms Gayle Sloan, said.

“Doing so encourages industry to strive on, it gives us the fortitude to continue to innovate and also educate and engage through the stories that we tell about the winners and finalists – whether this is to the media, to government stakeholders, to our clients and community, or even over dinner with friends.”

The evening started off with a bang as attendees heard about the finalists of our most popular category, Communication Engagement Success of the Year. This category drew the greatest number of nominations (18), making it a tight race and a challenging judging process. But there could only be one winner and the City of Melville was crowned champion for its grassroots, ground up engagement program, Talking Trash the Melville Way. Re.Group received special mention for its inspirational program.

Taking home the inaugural APC Woman of Waste Award, which recognises a woman in the industry who has driven change and continues to do so, was SoilCyclers managing director, Ms Alison Price.

Ms Price’s motto is, “what you can see, you can be”, and judges acknowledged that her efforts have led to progress in breaking down barriers and creating new career prospects for the next generation.

Taking out the competition in the Doug Dean Leader of the Year Award was Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority CEO, Mr Adam Faulkner, whose early commitments to drive domestic remanufacturing impressed the judges.

The winners:

  • Re.Group Outstanding WARR project – regional/rural: East Arnhem Regional Council – mobile CDS depot service
  • Outstanding WARR project – metro: Waverley Council – Recycling Improvement Program for MUDs
  • TOMRA Operational Excellence: Cleanaway Waste Management – Hydrocarbons Division
  • Bingo Innovation Award: Integrated Recycling
  • Arcadis Outstanding Facility Award: TOMRA Collection Solutions – TOMRA Recycling Centre, Coconut Grove, NT
  • Young Professional of the Year: Laura Yum, civil design engineer, Golder Associates
  • APC Woman of Waste: Alison Price, managing director, SoilCyclers
  • Communication Engagement Success of the Year: City of Melville – Talking Trash the Melville Way
  • WARR Workplace of the Year: Cleanaway Waste Management
  • Doug Dean Leader of the Year: Adam Faulkner, CEO, Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority


A snapshot of the achievements and projects of our winners and finalists can be found here. WMRR will also be publishing an excerpt of their nominations on our website over the coming weeks.

WMRR congratulates all winners and applauds all nominees – what they have accomplished is impressive. We also thank our judges for their time and hard work in reviewing the nominations and providing invaluable feedback, and our sponsors – Re.Group, TOMRA Collection Solutions, Arcadis, A Prince Consulting (APC), Bingo Industries, and Veolia Australia and New Zealand – for their support.