What is ASPIRE ?

ASPIRE was originally developed by CSIRO as a pilot project with four Melbourne municipalities. The project was led by the City of Kingston (CoK) Economic Development department and supported by a grant received from the Victorian Government Digital Futures Fund.

The proof of concept ASPIRE project involved two geographic regions in Melbourne: Hume in the North and Kingston, Dandenong and Knox in South-East Melbourne. The ASPIRE project targets (not exclusively) small to medium enterprises (SMEs). In Australia, small to medium enterprises are classified as those that employ fewer than 200 employees and they comprise 99.7% of all businesses and almost 90% of the Australian manufacturing sector.

Waste remains a low priority for many SMEs and while landfill should be the last option for waste disposal, it is often the first choice for SMEs. It is estimated that Australian SMEs send around 50% of their waste stream to landfill. This project tackles this challenge by finding alternative solutions to waste to landfill.

The Background paper – Sustainable Development through Regional Networks – the case of ASPIRE to support industrial symbiosis for SMEs: Download Here