SYDNEY: Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd announced plans to develop energy from waste project in Western Sydney.
The project will utilise leading European technology that will convert waste from households and local businesses into electricity for as many as 65,000 Western Sydney homes.
The proposal targets red bin waste that cannot be recycled and would have the capacity to cut Western Sydney’s annual landfill volumes by 500,000 tonnes – almost a third of the red bin waste generated per year in the local area.
Cleanaway has entered into a joint venture with Macquarie Capital’s Green Investment Group to develop the energy from waste project. Cleanaway and Macquarie Capital are co-investing and co-developing the project which will ultimately be operated by Cleanaway.
Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is underway which will contain information about the project proposal including environmental assessments. It will be released for public consultation early next year.
Cleanaway CEO Vik Bansal said: “This project will be another milestone for our Footprint 2025 strategy, the development of prized waste infrastructure assets for the optimisation of value across the whole waste value chain – from collections to resource recovery and disposal.“Energy from waste – as a supplement to waste avoidance, reuse and recycling – deals with our waste in a more sustainable way. With the technology that is available today, there is an opportunity for Western Sydney to become a leader in smart waste management.
“We are committed to a comprehensive approvals and consultation process that will, if successful, pave the way for a facility using world leading high combustion technology to safely create energy from waste – without generating harmful emissions.“The proposal will be assessed considering the triple bottom line – making sure it creates social, environmental and economic benefits. We won’t spare any effort to ensure the design is leading edge in terms of environmental controls and safe for the community. The project team will be talking with the community next. “Critically, we want to bring the community with us. Cleanaway works with communities across Australia and that is a commitment we take very seriously.”