A new pilot program led by Charles Darwin University is set to tackle commercial waste in the Northern Territory by connecting businesses with community groups that can put unwanted materials to good use.
The Darwin Business to Community Material Matchmaking (BCMM) program is a 12-month, community-led initiative funded through the City of Darwin’s 2026/27 Environment and Climate Change Grants.
It aims to link businesses with schools, artists, makers, community groups, social enterprises and other local organisations that can make practical use of items that would otherwise be thrown away.
The program comes as figures from the City of Darwin’s Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy show the scale of the problem.
The Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility, the only licensed landfill in Greater Darwin, accepts more than 200,000 tonnes of waste and recyclable materials each year.
Of that total, 43.9 per cent comes from the commercial and industrial sector, and 15.8 per cent from construction and development.
Under the program, businesses will be able to list surplus materials on a BCMM digital noticeboard, where community groups and organisations can browse for items they need.
The initiative will also include regular pop-up swap events at CDU’s Danala Education and Community Precinct, giving people the chance to exchange materials in person and learn more about reuse, repair and recycling.
The project is being led by CDU Senior Lecturer in Business Dr Michael Odei Erdiaw-Kwasie and CDU Outstanding Future Researcher in Psychosocial Resilience Dr Matthew Abunyewah.
The pilot has set clear targets, aiming to divert between 1000 and 2000 kilograms of materials from landfill, engage up to 20 local businesses and between 100 and 200 community users, and facilitate more than 50 successful matches between donors and recipients.
Dr Erdiaw-Kwasie said the program was designed to support a more circular economy, where materials are shared, reused and valued for longer, while also helping businesses cut disposal costs.
He said many businesses regularly ended up with materials they no longer needed, including timber offcuts, packaging, pallets, fabric, display items and containers, and that these items often still had value.
“Often these items still have value, but because there is no simple way to pass them on, they are thrown away,” said Dr Erdiaw-Kwasie.
He noted that at the same time, many community groups and organisations were searching for low-cost materials to support creative projects, repairs, education activities, gardening, fundraising and other community programs, and that the initiative was designed to bring those two needs together in a simple and practical way.
Dr Abunyewah said the project would deliver significant benefits across the community, with schools potentially using donated materials for student projects, community gardens accessing building materials or containers, and repair groups and makerspaces finding items they could transform into useful products.
He added that charities and social enterprises may also be able to use materials to support their programs or generate income.
“In this way, the project turns what was once surplus into a local resource that supports creativity, participation and community resilience,” said Dr Abunyewah.
The project will also produce an operations manual and sustainability plan to support the sharing and scaling of the model if the pilot proves successful.
Businesses and community organisations interested in taking part can register via the BCMM digital noticeboard and attend upcoming pop-up swap events.
Further details on registration, the noticeboard and the first event will be released at the pilot’s launch, which is expected later this year.
