The Badderam Eco Luxe Resort & Spa, proposed for a 10-acre site at Box Street on Buderim’s southern escarpment, proves that being ‘luxurious’ and ‘eco-friendly’ are not mutually exclusive.

The proposed Badderam eco resort recently joined Cleantech Industries Sunshine Coast and plans to open in 2025. It will be the first Zero Waste resort in Queensland and one of only a handful in Australia, setting new benchmarks for green and sustainable tourism nationally.

It will feature 125 luxury accommodation suites, state-of-the-art conference and event facilities, three restaurants, bars and fireside lounges, a wine tasting room and wine cellar, a wellness day spa with 10 treatment rooms, gym, yoga studio, sauna/steam room and relaxation areas, heated resort pools, boutique, library, cookery school, education and staff training facilities, as well as basement parking for 177 vehicles.

Experts informing the project have been drawn from diverse fields including geology, environmental science, horticulture, sustainability, waste management and cultural heritage.

The resort’s eco credentials are extensive and the built form has been specifically designed to integrate into the natural surrounds, both aesthetically and ecologically. Built to ECO and ROC certification standards, the resort will feature over 5,000 square metres of green walls and green roofs, photovoltaic technology for generating and storing solar energy, rainwater harvesting tanks, zero waste composting, retention of all mapped remnant vegetation and substantial regeneration and additional vegetation cover on site post-construction.

Roads will be constructed from permeable pavements and quiet eco-friendly electric vehicles will transport guests within the resort around tranquil landscaping features including an Indigenous food foraging garden, open relaxation areas and lawns, outdoor fire pits and stargazing lounges, boardwalks, bridge and water features and a waterfall with a rope bridge crossing.

In a typical resort, at least 80 per cent of waste can be recycled or composted. Recycling from hotel rooms is still largely unheard of due to the complexities and health & safety issues involved in separating out the materials. Badderam will not have any waste bins in guest rooms. Instead, there will be centralised receptacles on each floor of the resort for the recycling of organic materials.

The on-site composter will treat 50 per cent of the waste generated on site. The organic material will be turned into a compost that will be used to fertilise the gardens and green walls.

Other examples of initiatives include:

•  Careful purchasing decisions to ensure that materials which cannot be reused, recycled or composted will not be allowed on the resort
•  Shampoo and soap dispensers to be used along with bulk purchasing of the containers, ie. no hard soap which is often not fully used and discarded along with the packaging
•  Implementation of a resort-wide resource management training and education program for all staff and guests
•  No disposable coffee cups on site• No bottled water on site – instead, cold filtered water from taps to be available throughout the resort.

The Badderam eco resort proposal is the creative brainchild of local Buderim couple, Mrs Heidi Meyer and Mr Kim Carroll, who are passionate in their desire to contribute toward ecological, economic and social sustainability for Buderim and the Sunshine Coast region.

For more information about the proposed zero waste eco resort, see
 CISC member Badderam Eco Luxe Resort & Spa.

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