Energy from Waste in NSW
Information about energy from waste, the management of waste that cannot be recycled and the framework that applies to proposals for energy from waste facilities.
Energy from waste
Energy from waste is a process to treat residual waste (that cannot be recycled) to recover energy from the waste in the form of heat, electricity or fuel.
The energy from waste process produces some waste such as ash, which needs to be safely and lawfully managed.
The NSW Government is taking a strategic approach to the role of energy from waste to:
- increase the resilience of our residual waste infrastructure and
- support our transition to a circular economy.
Waste management
We are creating new options to manage NSW’s residual waste (waste that cannot be recycled), reducing our reliance on landfills and making our waste management system more robust.
This will help NSW keep essential waste management services functioning if access to a landfill is cut off during emergencies such as fires or floods, or if natural disasters generate extra waste.
Thermal treatment
The thermal treatment of waste to recover energy is one option used around the world to reduce the volume of waste going to landfill. It can safely manage residual waste in a more useful way than disposing of it in landfill, producing energy in the form of heat, electricity or fuel that can be used to power a range of activities.
Resource recovery
Energy from waste can also be an important step in resource recovery processes, such as in the production of biochar or biofuels from organic waste. Like landfill, it should only be used when there are no other higher-order waste management options available, such as reuse or recycling.
Energy from Waste Framework
The NSW Government has a best-practice Energy from Waste Framework to guide the development of energy from waste proposals in NSW. This framework ensures energy from waste facilities meet strict performance standards and are in areas that best address the State’s waste management needs.
Concerns about potential risk from pollutants in air emissions from energy from waste facilities may be based on comparisons with older waste incineration technology.
Modern energy from waste is very different. Technologies for combusting waste and controlling air emissions have significantly improved as better controls and improved monitoring have been developed.
The NSW Energy from Waste Framework aligns with global best practice to minimise any risk from pollutants in air emissions.
Facilities must meet, at minimum, the Group 6 air emission standards within the Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2022. The European Union’s 2010 Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), supported by the 2019 Best Available Techniques Reference Document (BREF) for waste incineration, set emission limit standards for combustion-waste energy from waste facilities that align with best available practices and technologies.
The EPA routinely sets emission limits in an environment protection licence (EPL) for additional pollutants or stricter limits than the minimum standards prescribed in the Clean Air Regulation to reflect the ability of a plant to achieve better performance.
The EU IED and BREF framework will be used as a reference point for best available technologies in this sector. Stricter limits can be tailored to address project specific risk factors where necessary. The EPA can also set other conditions in an EPL aimed at reviewing licence limits after a plant is operating or to promote emission reduction and continuous improvement.
Energy from waste facilities must also undertake continuous monitoring of important parameters to make sure they don’t exceed the emission limits. The EPA may set more stringent monitoring requirements in a licence, including continuous monitoring of additional pollutants where proven and available monitoring methods are available.
The NSW Government is taking urgent action to transition NSW safely to a circular economy.
Key reforms include:
- phasing out problematic single-use plastic items
- financial incentives for manufacturers and producers to design out problematic plastics
- having government agencies prefer recycled content
- mandating the separation of food and garden organics for households and selected businesses
- incentivising biogas generation from waste materials.
Despite these actions, waste volumes in NSW are forecast to grow over the next 20 years from 21 million tonnes in 2021 to nearly 37 million tonnes by 2041. At the current rates of waste generation and recycling, Greater Sydney will run out of landfill space by 2030 for household waste and commercial and construction waste.
Energy from waste is used to generate energy from the thermal treatment of waste. There are a range of different approaches and technologies that thermally treat waste to produce energy.
One approach is the combustion of red lid bin waste to produce steam, which turns a turbine to generate electricity.
Other forms of energy from waste may include the heating of clean agricultural waste in a low oxygen process known as pyrolysis to produce sustainable fertilisers and fuels.
There are approximately 2,000 energy from waste facilities operating globally.
Energy from waste is part of the waste management framework in many countries to manage residual waste that would otherwise go to landfill.
PFAS is an emerging area of study internationally, however studies to date show that a large proportion of PFAS is destroyed during thermal treatment, and that risks from PFAS in emissions are low.
The EPA will continue to require comprehensive human health and environmental risk assessments to be undertaken for PFAS using the latest information available.
We are also working with our counterparts in Australian jurisdictions to develop an agreed approach to the regulation of Incinerator Bottom Ash and Air Pollution Control Residue.