When Professor Veena Sahajwalla learnt she had been named among the 58 finalists in the 2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes, her first reaction was genuine disbelief.
“It was a real surprise,” she tells The Indian Sun. “We get so excited about the little progress we make in taking our technology out into industry. To have this recognition for our industry partner, for us and for all the teams who have been so passionate about the science and sustainability is incredibly satisfying.”
The Scientia Professor at UNSW has been shortlisted for the Eureka Prize for Sustainability Research for the work of SMaRT@UNSW, whose pioneering microrecycling science is transforming complex waste streams such as e-waste, plastics and textiles into valuable new products through decentralised MICROfactories.
For Sahajwalla, the recognition reflects years of collaboration between researchers and industry. She points to Renew IT, one of the team’s industry partners, as an example of how research can move beyond the laboratory.
“When you see something that started on a tiny scale become commercialised, it is incredibly rewarding. It shows what is possible when industry and researchers share the same vision.”
The nomination recognises a career spent challenging one of society’s biggest assumptions: that waste has little value.
Born in Mumbai and now one of Australia’s most respected materials scientists and engineers, Sahajwalla has built an international reputation by reimagining waste as a resource. Her innovations include the internationally recognised Green Steel technology, which uses waste tyres and plastics in steelmaking, and the world’s first e-waste MICROfactory, launched in 2018, followed by a plastics MICROfactory the following year.
Known widely as Australia’s “Waste Queen”, she has long argued that solving the waste crisis requires more than recycling. It requires rethinking manufacturing itself.
That philosophy lies at the heart of the MICROfactory model.
Rather than transporting waste over long distances to large processing plants, MICROfactories are designed to operate wherever waste is generated, whether in cities or regional communities. Waste becomes the primary raw material for creating new products close to where it is collected.
“What we’re trying to achieve is to create operations that are fit for purpose,” Sahajwalla says.
She believes the approach can help regional communities build new industries while creating jobs and reducing landfill. “Waste becomes part of a supply chain. Instead of seeing waste as a burden, communities can start to imagine it as a valuable resource.”
The model also reflects a broader vision of a circular economy, where discarded materials are continually remanufactured into useful products rather than thrown away.
For Sahajwalla, however, scientific breakthroughs matter only when they deliver practical outcomes. “You’ve got to do the science, but you’ve also got to think about how it can be translated into the real world,” she says.
That emphasis on real-world impact has defined much of her career. As founding director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) at UNSW, she has worked closely with industry to develop technologies that tackle some of the world’s most difficult waste streams while creating commercially viable products.
The Eureka recognition, she says, is also a celebration of the many researchers, engineers and industry partners who have shared that journey.
“It gives you hope for our future. It’s about science, sustainability and people working together.”
Asked what advice she would offer young people, particularly girls considering careers in science and engineering, Sahajwalla urges them to see science as a way to make a tangible difference.
“If you want a better future and a better planet, science and technology give you the opportunity to create real-world impact. You can bring your passion, collaborate with others and make a real difference to society.”
Winners of the 2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes will be announced in September.
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