Meet the Changemakers at 437 Hunter
At Embrace People & Place, we’re fortunate to work alongside remarkable in-house partners who are shaping a stronger, more connected and sustainable Hunter region. Meet the Changemakers at 437 Hunter is our ongoing interview series spotlighting the people and organisations bringing purpose, creativity and community impact to life within our shared space.
In each issue, we sit down with one of our partners to explore the heart of their work, the challenges they’re tackling, and the hope that drives them. This issue, we’re speaking with Bianca Bartlett and Thomas Michel from the Full Circle Collective. Their mission is to help enable local communities to have a positive environmental impact through small scale environmental action; and to champion the circular economy through resource recovery, repair and reuse.
For those who may not know your organisation, how would you describe your purpose and the heart of your work in the Hunter region?
The Full Circle Collective is a not-for-profit social enterprise that supports local businesses, social enterprises, community organisations and makers with a shared ethos to create a sustainable future. Since 2024, we have had a vibrant trading and community space at 437 Hunter Street, Newcastle, where we champion the principles of the circular economy and empower communities to make a positive environmental impact through resource recovery, repair, and reuse.
What community needs or challenges does your organisation focus on addressing, and why are these so important locally?
We founded The Full Circle Collective because we believe that meaningful change begins with small, intentional actions. By empowering individuals to take these steps, we reduce environmental overwhelm while also igniting a powerful ripple effect that touches families, schools, and the wider community. Through education and collaboration, we demonstrate the profound impact of these efforts—not only in creating a sustainable future but in fostering a collective sense of hope, purpose, and connection.
This is important because there is an increasing urgency to accelerate sustainability efforts in government and business, in recognition that we are in the midst of a climate and ecological crisis that is having profound impacts on planetary life and how each of us work, consume and live. The Full Circle Collective is focused on catalysing tangible change as a response to these challenges. This is especially important locally, because our region has been economically so reliant on the coal industry for centuries. Our work recognises that as a community we need to come together to disrupt traditional work and consumption patterns, design waste out of the system, and create new low-pollution and sustainable economic models.
Can you share a recent moment, story, or achievement that reflects the impact your organisation is creating?
Education and community engagement are central to The Full Circle Collective’s strategy, and we regularly host events, training sessions, and workshops to equip the community with practical skills in circular economy practices. A standout initiative for us in this space has been the weekly repair café, launched in April 2025, which brings together a network of repairers (including sewists, electronic repairers, carpenters, and even a visiting optician) to help residents restore and reuse items that might otherwise be disposed. Since April, we have repaired hundreds of items and engage with many people each week about the importance of fostering repair skills – as an employment creation tool, a way to ease cost-of-living pressures, and a practical strategy for anyone to minimise their impact on the environment.
What are the biggest challenges you’re currently facing in delivering your work, and what would help make the biggest difference?
One of our biggest challenges involves accessing predictable and ongoing revenue streams that aren’t reliant on government grants programs. Support in establishing new markets and revenue streams for circular and sustainable products and services, through government and corporate procurement contracts, would make the biggest difference in this space. We want to create meaningful and deep changes to our regional economy, and supporting the business development of our suppliers by displacing conventional (and unsustainably manufactured) products and services would make huge differences.
Another challenge is having affordable space with stable tenure to operate from. Our retail space on the ground floor of 437 Hunter Street has been so transformative for us, easing this challenge and bringing The Full Circle Collective into a purpose-designed ecosystem. The next challenge for us will be access to industrial space for production, logistics, and co-location with other sustainability-minded social enterprises, so we can further leverage and accelerate the impact we’re having.
How has being part of the 437 Hunter community influenced your work and the way you collaborate?
It’s been greatly inspiring to be involved with the 437 Hunter project, and to see this place start to flourish under the guidance of Embrace People & Place. It has influenced our work because we’re already pushing ourselves to consider how we could create lasting partnerships and projects with other organisations in the building – to build on their own social mission and values, by combining them with environmental sustainability and circular economy frameworks.
What is one thing you wish more people understood about the work you do or the people you serve?
We would like more people to be aware of our goals as a social enterprise, and our vision around establishing ourselves as a Work-Integrated Social Enterprise (WISE) that is able to create meaningful employment for people with barriers to employment. We are aiming to work on establishing this vision in 2026, ideally in partnership with other organisations at 437 Hunter.
On a personal note, what motivates you to do this work—and what keeps you hopeful?
What motivates us is the positive engagement we have daily with the community – each day we greet dozens of people in our space or speak with many more at the events we run or attend. Most are highly supportive of our project, which gives us inspiration to imagine a world without waste, and to believe that a more sustainable world is possible.
Finally, what’s your favourite place in the Hunter to unwind, feel connected, or recharge?
In the waves off one of Newcastle’s many beautiful beaches!
