RECOLAB joins Tasmania's new Circular Economy Course

There's something rather satisfying about seeing an idea that started with materials destined to either rot in someones shed or end up in landfill become a part of Tasmania's future.

We're thrilled to share that RECOLAB has been selected as one of the Tasmanian businesses featured as a case study in the University of Tasmania's new Circular Economy short course, commencing in 2027.

The six-week course, developed by Dr Terese Fiedler from the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, is being launched with the support of the Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Board. It has been designed for professionals, business leaders, community members and emerging practitioners who want to understand how circular economy can create value while reducing waste and resource consumption.

And we couldn't be more delighted to be a part of it!

So, what exactly is Circular Economy?

For us, it has always been pretty simple ... instead of the traditional buy or make, use, throw away model, a circular economy asks us to think differently about the things we already have.

What happens if that sail/billboard/festival tent doesn't go to landfill? Can the material be given a second life as something useful?

What if materials are valued for what they can become, rather than being considered waste?

That is the thinking behind RECOLAB.

Is it only about waste?

One of the things we particularly love about the new UTAS course is that it recognises that circular economy is much bigger than putting something in the recycling bin.

The course will explore how circular economy principles can drive innovation, resource efficiency, organisational resilience and long-term value.

That distinction matters as, for a small business like ours, circularity isn't an add-on to what we do, it is the starting point. We look at the materials available, it's characteristics and the story it carries, and use creative problem-solving to adapt a design to suit - rather than forcing the material to fit a predetermined product.

Tasmania has some very good storys to tell

A particularly exciting part of the new course it that it focuses on Tasmanian businesses already putting circular economy principles into practice.

Learners will explore local examples of circular innovation, resource efficiency, reuse, repair and regeneration across different industries and sectors.

Circular economy can sometimes sound like a very big, very complicated concept. Something involving graphs, policy papers and round table conferences. But, it can also look like a sailmaker's offcut being turned into a bag.

It can look like a business asking where a material came from, where it will go next and whether we really need to extract something new to make the thing we want.

It can look like collaboration.

It can look like something beautiful emerging from material that someone else thought was destined for the bin.

We're proud to be part of the conversation

RECOLAB has always been about sustainability, but make it funky!

We want circular products to be useful, durable, beautifully AND full of personality.

The materials we work with already have their own stories - we don't want to erase this history but build it into the next chapter of the fabric's journey.

Looking towards 2027

The new UTAS course is expected to commence in 2027 and will be delivered in a blended format, combining self-paced online learning with interactive workshops. Participants who successfully complete it will receive a University of Tasmania Certificate of Completion, with pathways towards further study and future qualifications.

It is already happening here ...

In Tasmanian workshops, businesses, community organisations, farms, factories, studios and sheds all around the state.

We are incredibly proud that RECOLAB will be one of the stories helping future circular economy practitioners understand what they can look like in the real world.

We're very excited to see where this next chapter takes us.