Rethinking Waste in Australia’s Built Environment

The Challenge

Australia’s construction industry is generating waste at a scale that can no longer be ignored.

According to the Australia’s Waste(d) Opportunity report by Green Building Council of Australia, Coreo, CEFC and the NSW Government, the sector produces 29 million tonnes of waste each year, accounting for 39% of the nation’s total waste.

This is not just an environmental issue. It is a commercial one.

On average, projects are spending ~$384 per m² on materials that never get used.

Materials are specified, manufactured, transported and paid for, only to be discarded.

The Insight

The report reframes the issue clearly:

“Waste doesn’t exist. It’s a human construct. What we call ‘waste’ is actually valuable material that we’ve failed to value.” 

This shifts the conversation.

The problem is not waste itself, it's is how materials are designed, selected and managed across the lifecycle of a building.

What’s Really Happening

Even with high landfill diversion rates, the system is not working as intended.

• Projects report 90%+ diversion from landfill, but this does not reflect true recovery

• Materials are often downcycled, degraded or lost through processing

• Recycling data tracks what is collected, not what is actually reused

At the same time, the industry remains only 4.6% circular, meaning the vast majority of materials are still treated as disposable.

The Opportunity

This is where the shift becomes powerful.

If the industry rethinks how materials are:

• Designed

• Specified

• Procured

• Applied

…there is a clear pathway to:

• Reduce material waste at the source

• Lower embodied carbon

• Improve project efficiency

• Unlock significant cost savings

The report estimates up to $64 billion in wasted material value over the next five years if current practices continue.

Where KEIM Fits

At KEIM, this conversation is not theoretical.

It sits directly within how materials are specified and used.

KEIM mineral paints are fundamentally different:

• Made from inorganic mineral silicates, not petrochemical resins

• No plastics, no microplastics, no film-forming layers

• Designed to bond with the substrate, not sit on top of it

• Long lifecycle performance reduces the need for reapplication

Why this matters for waste

Most coatings are part of a repeat cycle:

Apply → degrade → remove → reapply

Every cycle generates:

• Material waste

• Labour waste

• Packaging waste

• Embodied carbon

  
  

KEIM reduces the need for that cycle.

Less repainting = less material moving through the system.

Reducing waste is not just about managing what leaves the site. It starts with choosing materials that are inherently more durable, stable and aligned with the substrate they protect.

A Shift in Thinking

If waste is a design problem, then material choice becomes a design decision with long-term consequences.

The industry does not need incremental improvement. It needs a reframing of value.

From:

• Disposal → Retention

• Consumption → Longevity

• Recycling → Reduction

Closing Thought

The construction industry is not short on materials. It is short on how we value them.

The opportunity is clear.

Build with intention. Specify with accountability. Choose materials that are designed to last.