Waste management sustainability initiatives

Landfilled waste drives green energy

Council is using innovative technology to convert landfill gas into green energy, providing localised alternative power generation for the electricity grid.

Generators have been installed across Council’s landfill sites, each producing enough electricity to power approximately 7,000 average sized homes in the local area each year. 

Visit Council’s landfill gas into energy dashboard to view the amount of energy generated, equivalent average homes powered, biogas captured and carbon abated each month by the power plants at our waste facilities. 

Generators in a fenced off and restricted area at a waste facility are used to create green energy

 

Alternative landfill cover material

The traditional method to cover and contain the daily general waste disposed into landfills was to use clean fill (soil). Clean fill is an effective material to reduce odour, reduce rainwater infiltration, access by vermin, and deter fire ignition. The downside with using clean fill, is that it fills up the landfill more quickly, therefore reducing the number of years available to use the facility.

Council successfully trialled an innovative alternative cover material (ACM) in 2018 made from 100% biodegradable clay and cellulose fibre polymers, specifically formulated for landfills and hazardous site rehabilitation.

The main benefits of using the ACM in Council landfill operations include 98% reduced rainfall infiltration, 95% reduction in odour, 95-100% reduction in dust, 95% fire risk reduction, 90% vermin reduction, reduced erosion, and an increase to the life of existing landfills by up to 70%.

This process provides a safe alternative to keeping disposed general waste in landfill with the ability to provide a long term and local waste management solution for residents and businesses in the region.