An update from France visit ...

A first-hand look at waste to energy

With a jam-packed itinerary of meetings with creative industries and waste to energy CEOs, Ballarat Mayor McIntosh will have little to tell you about the details of France you would expect to hear from a traditional trip.

In fact, don’t expect to hear about the food or a single top 10 attraction at all.

However, she can tell you how Parisians have changed their mindsets about waste to energy.

That’s because she spent the second half of her time in Paris at the SYCTOM - Isséane Recycling Centre and Energy from Waste (EFW) plant located on the Seine River.

Christophe Maria, Assistant CEO and Director of Community Engagement, met with Mayor McIntosh as part of a tour of the 2000sqm plant, which is surrounded by 4000 houses and many businesses.

It is one of 121 waste to energy plants across France which has been integrated into the fabric of the surrounding buildings, and has received minimal negative community feedback.

Treated smoke from this facility is filtered through water and used to heat Paris apartments.

Cr McIntosh used this opportunity to ask Mr Maria about what he considered integral in establishing a similar facility in Ballarat.

His advice was:

Cr McIntosh said she is already starting to think about ways to better inform Ballarat residents, including educational campaigns around what items can and cannot be recycled.

She also plans to ensure residents are regularly kept up-to-date about the recent Waste to Energy Heads of Agreement with global firm, Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB).  

Takings from a leader in creative industries

Cr McIntosh and Art Gallery of Ballarat Director Louise Tegart continued their journey for new cultural, economic and tourism opportunities for Ballarat during the second half of their visit to Paris this week.

The Creative City Strategy has been a consistent theme of discussions during meetings to date, with a visit to Station F reinforcing this.

Station F is the world’s largest creative co-working space and business incubator, and is home of some of the world’s largest companies such as Google and Facebook.

This particular co-working space is situated in a former rail freight and houses more than 3000 people. It also features numerous play spaces, art installations and restaurants.

Since opening in 2017, it has been home to more than 1000 start-ups and entrepreneurs who simply pay for a desk space each month.

One of the consistent messages that came from the consultation sessions for the Creative City Strategy to date was the need for creative co-working spaces in Ballarat.

Station F encourages collaboration and creative experimentation and is the world leading model for this kind of business.

This tour has been extremely beneficial for Cr McIntosh, who has now had the opportunity to see first-hand what could happen in Ballarat with a creative co-working space and entertainment quarter.

The Creative City Strategy is currently being developed, in collaboration with the community’s creative industries, to help elevate Ballarat to the status of regional Australia's leading creative city and to assist the creatives who contribute greatly to our growing reputation.

Cr McIntosh also visited la Cité de la Mode et du Design, which is a multi-disciplinary art and performance space that hosts temporary exhibitions, events and performances.

The City of Ballarat is looking at ways to best look after the city’s heritage and maximise economic returns from its heritage base, as well as learning how to ensure the city’s heritage ‘personality’ is not compromised by rapid population growth and significant investment.

This particular ultra-contemporary building in France has been designed to work with the heritage building of old docks underneath. It houses spaces dedicated to cutting-edge fashion and design.

The visit was useful to see how an inter-disciplinary space for hire can work, while still retaining its core purpose - a reflection that can be applied to Civic Hall.