MORNINGTON Peninsula resident and co-founder of a wrap that is compostable and eco-friendly, Julia Kay, has been named Young Victorian of the Year by the Victoria Day Council.
From a young age Kay, a former architect, had a knack for design, and wanted to have an impact on the environment.
That led her to a career in architecture, which in turn has taken her around the world and led to her designing everything from galleries to schools.
Kay said working in the construction industry was a real “eye opener” for her as she saw copious amounts of waste with no clear solution in sight.
For someone who grew up caring deeply for the landscape around her, this was disturbing. She just couldn’t believe the amount of waste the everyday business was churning through.
It didn’t take much time for Kay to discover that Australians send 150,000 tonnes of stretch wrap to landfills every year.
With all of this in mind, in 2019, Kay co-founded Great Wrap with her husband Jordy, and today the business is providing the first step to stopping the waste.
Today Great Wrap manufactures stretch wrap from food waste for homes and businesses at their local factories on the Mornington Peninsula and Tullamarine.
Kay said the next decade would be vastly different to the previous and it will be completely driven by the impact businesses have on the planet and generations to come.
“We saw a materials revolution happening around us. Everything was changing rapidly; energy, transport, and agriculture, yet plastic stayed the same.,” she said.
“We knew the technology existed to put an end to plastic waste but there weren’t any products available on the market for us to use.
“That’s when Great Wrap was born. We invented the products we knew the world was missing so we can dump plastic once and for all. We are driven by impact, fuelled by demand, and have a 10-year vision for a world where plastic doesn’t exist.”
The Victoria Day Awards celebrate Victoria’s Foundation at the time of separation from New South Wales on the 1 July 1851.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 5 July 2022
