Landfill Emissions Abatement Program
When organics wastes breaks down in a landfill it creates methane. In NSW, methane from landfills makes up around 4% of all emissions. It also makes up 60-80% of local government’s direct and indirect emissions.
351 facilities currently hold an Environment Protection Licence for waste disposal to land in NSW, only 40 of these facilities have installed gas capture infrastructure. The EPA has commissioned work to model the emissions for the largest landfills that do not yet manage their landfill methane. It is estimated that these facilities contributed approximately 0.4% of emissions in NSW in 2023-24.
The Landfill Emissions Abatement Program (LEAP) has been designed to provide targeted support to reduce or abate greenhouse gas emissions from landfills in NSW.
Initiatives overview
| Initiative | Description |
|---|---|
| Emissions modelling and technology scan | Understanding the scale and source of landfill gas emissions, and options to minimise their impact |
| Resource development and knowledge sharing | Upskilling council staff and creating of a resource toolkit to support them |
| Procurement support | Putting supports in place to simplify the procurement process for councils looking to install landfill gas management technologies |
| Market readiness | Enabling the development of new and existing low flow landfill gas management technologies |
Resources
The EPA partnered with Hunter Joint Organisation to develop the Mastering Landfill Emissions with the NGERs calculator capacity building package. The package supports NSW councils with landfill emissions measurement and reporting and is available on the Hunter Joint Organisation website.