Veena is known as the "Waste Queen". It is changing the way we treat waste, not only in Australia but also globally. I see waste as an opportunity.
To me waste is really one of those unused resources, just waiting to be used. Here in Australia, we are sitting in that space.
We have seen a ban on exports occur in the trash and we can no longer export it overseas then it is someone else's problem.
We have to solve it, we have to do something
About it. Veena is obsessed with waste. All of this polypropylene that is easy to recycle right here in Australia, this should not be wasted.
And he sees in some of the work he does when you're done, get out of the box completely to solve the problem.
Twenty years ago, he invented a way to rehabilitate tires in the metal-making process and saved millions of tires from getting into garbage dumps.
He has now developed a new product that combines fabrics from old clothes and glass and has turned them into a product for the construction industry.
It is a paradigm change. We've had the Industrial Revolution, now we've got this technological revolution. I think he's talking about transformation.
Australia really can’t continue to think of business as normal. And I think we need to be brave and be brave and think big.
My husband and children will completely describe me as a mega hoarder. I don’t see myself as a hoarder. I see myself as a curious person.
I think my mother had a few funny titles that made her a little different from other Moms. He was a garbage policeman, making sure that if we were going to throw something, would it have to be thrown away?
Can we use it? Before I can get out the garbage will come out make sure you go through all the garbage. Things like yogurt boxes.
I just throw it away but he'll just go pick it up. We have a place in the house. I call it a waste collection center. And, you know, we got all kinds of things there.
You know what I really like to get you out of the trash is all these fun products that have the most value in them. As in this case, you can see this shiny metal layer and that is what I love to use and that becomes part of my collection.
And here is exactly what my extensive research journey begins with all sorts of amazingly beautiful things. So every time I collect enough of these things, they come with me to the office.
I have worked with Veena for more than five years now at the SMART Center, and there have been a group of about 30 people, interested young engineers, and scientists working in the recycling space. Veena is the director. Adhering to Veena is a challenge.
Well hello hello. Hello. Do you have anything for us? Lots of stuff, right. He won’t stop talking about science and engineering and technology, of course, uh, from one perspective to another.
It is part of everything he does. The type of items Veena brings are mixed in such a way that regular updates cannot be replicated at the moment, or something people have not appreciated.
Probably HGPE and LGPE cover. I don’t know how many times I opened the chip pack and went for this rather than the good aluminum in it!
Did you notice that Keith is aluminum? Of course. The items we have collected here we see and understand the amount tied to these items. So I think one needs to look at that.
Certainly. I think that might be a good project.
Well you know there are a lot of things that we just throw away and take for granted, but you know that growing up in Mumbai, India, where I was born there was nothing like rubbish. Everything had value and everything was powerful. Mumbai is an industrial city in India.
More than 20 million people. And there has been an amazing buzz in it. Do you remember where I used to go to yoga, which was on Marine Drive? Try to return to Mumbai about once a year and go with my family.
I am one of two children. Growing up I was very close to my family, but most of all, I was very close to my mother. 5 ‘clock in the morning I remember you used to get up and used to go to the milk depot to get milk for the family.
Veena's mother was a doctor. He was, in fact, a pediatrician. You know, her mom worked and took care of the house and did everything.
So that really encouraged Veena a lot. I also remember when you were doing great Sindhi curry. Sindhi curry I remember because you made it big, Sini curry is like you describe.
To my mother, it was absolutely true. anything else
is possible. Do as you please, but do your best and do your best.
Ganeesh Ganeesh his name was Ganeesh. She broke her leg. Good luck doctor. I quickly gave her the concrete, which I expected all women to be on top, never under any man, that even today.
I speak for all women. My parents were the ones who encouraged us to be curious. You know, when I was a kid in Mumbai there was so much you could see and I saw people working, fixing shoes.
People carry all kinds of heavy objects in their heads, for example. For example, an old discarded radio, which they will hear can repair and use. Even today there is a large part of the economy that works after the reform.
And how amazing is that? All these experiences I had as a child growing up, I think, I had a role to play in what came into my system, in my DNA. Among my female friends, I was probably unfamiliar with the pursuit.
