Time for change: WMRR roadmap to 2025 for Energy from Waste
Published Tue 14 Jan 2020
ENERGY FROM WASTE (EfW) is the treatment of residual wastes to harness energy from material that would otherwise be landfilled. The energy is created by either thermally processing waste at high temperatures and using the heat to make steam, or digesting the organic material to produce methane gas which can be used for fuel, electricity generation, or heat. This process of energy recovery contributes to a sustainable waste management chain.
The National Waste Report gives a target of 80% recovery rate across all waste streams by 2030 and the need to halve the volume of organic wastes sent to landfill by 2030. Australia’s current recycling rates for municipal solid waste are similar to many comparable European countries, however our landfill rates are significantly higher; with energy from waste being used extensively in Europe for the management of residual waste streams.
On current estimates, Australians recycle 36 million tonnes annually and we currently send 27 million tonnes of waste to landfill. This represents 40% of all waste generated.
To move away from the process of burying our residual waste in landfills, we must urgently transition to the recovery of valuable energy from this resource.
Energy from waste captures just 3% of all waste generated – and it will be impossible to get to an 80% recovery rate without a fully integrated waste management and resource recovery system, which includes EfW. A target without EfW just doesn’t work.
There are major challenges associated with moving to energy from waste particularly the lack of alignment between state and national policy, a consensus on what equates to best practice, and a resulting lack of certainty regarding future investment.
This Roadmap is designed to help overcome the challenges to establishing energy from waste by outlining the clear steps to achieving six (6) important outcomes.
Achieving these outcomes will provide certainty for industry under a harmonised planning and regulatory framework. In this landscape, information will be evidence-based, data will be readily available, and there is public trust.
The successful execution of the Roadmap will result in the recovery of resources from waste that would otherwise go to landfill, and the production of renewable energy. The capital investment required for these technologies will drive investment in waste and resource recovery infrastructure, generating skilled jobs and employment through design, construction, and operation.