Rewriting the Rules of Manufacturing in Australia

Across the construction sector, there’s growing recognition that the way we both create and use materials must change. Circular design is not just a sustainability goal, but a strategy for value retention, and smarter use of resources.

We’re seeing more residential and commercial projects prioritise durability over disposability, and more clients asking where their materials come from, what they contain, and what happens when they’re no longer needed. These are the right questions. But they demand more than material substitutions or carbon offsets – they call for a rethink of how we manufacture in the first place.

Responsible Manufacturing as a Systems Approach is essential. At Noveco, we call this responsible manufacturing. It’s not a slogan – it’s a practical framework that guides what we make, how we make it, and what we do with waste. It means producing locally to reduce freight emissions and support domestic industry. It means working with safer, non-toxic inputs – like our crystalline silica-free materials – to protect workers and align with emerging regulation. And it means turning industrial waste streams into high-performing products with real commercial value.

At Noveco as an example, we manufacture surfaces using up to 90% recycled material – primarily post-consumer glass and textiles. Through a new partnership with solar panel recyclers, we’ve created a closed-loop pathway that transforms end-of-life panels into premium architectural surfaces. What would have gone to landfill now forms the core of benchtops and tiles used in both commercial and residential projects.

Circularity Starts at the Factory Floor. Responsible manufacturing goes beyond environmental credentials. It’s about designing for long-term relevance: products that meet industry standards, integrate into existing workflows, and deliver performance without compromising on safety or style. I don’t believe circularity should require trade-offs – it should be built into the supply chain from the outset.

But the current system still favours the linear: fast, cheap, replaceable. Specifications rarely prioritise circularity. Product stewardship remains optional. Secondary markets are underdeveloped. And recovery infrastructure is inconsistent at best.

Time to Redefine Value. To shift this, responsibility must extend across the chain. Manufacturers must account for full product life cycles. Customers must ask harder questions about material impacts. And policy needs to evolve too – rewarding reuse, penalising waste, and supporting local innovation.

We’ve started applying this logic within our own operation – repurposing high-quality industrial waste, including glass from decommissioned solar panels, into architectural surfaces. It’s technically feasible, commercially viable, and well-aligned with the risk and compliance priorities of the sector. But it also revealed how fragmented the current system is: recycling infrastructure is patchy, secondary material streams are underdeveloped, and there are few standards to guide circular product development.

 What Comes Next? Circular design is not a future ambition. It’s a practical framework for building better materials, with fewer inputs and longer value. The question is no longer whether it can be done – but whether the industry is ready to take responsibility for what it makes.

Ryan Fritsch
Chief Executive Officer
Noveco Surfaces