8.9 WASTE MANAGEMENT

Description

Waste to landfill comprises the largest source of emissions in Council’s carbon footprint, with 63,494 t CO2-e representing 62.5% of Council’s total emissions. The vast majority of these emissions result from the decomposition of waste created by the community because when organic waste breaks down in landfill it generates methane - a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

MidCoast Council adopted the Waste Management 2030 Strategy in 2019, with a key target of achieving a 75% diversion rate for waste to landfill, up from the 2018/19 diversion rate of 63%. The Strategy also aims to increase the diversion of food waste, lower contamination in recyclables, increase recycling, and reduce soft plastics. Council’s Strategy is informed by and informs the Regional MidWaste Strategy which is in the final year of its coverage (2021).

SUMMARY OF MIDCOAST COUNCIL’S WASTE MANAGEMENT 2030 STRATEGY

MidCoast Council is aware of many of the measures or levers available to it to reduce emissions from waste, such as:

• Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) processing can increase diversion rates from landfill towards targets of 75%. The development of FOGO is in

Council’s proposed plans over the next 10 years.

• The Taree landfill will develop a new cell in the near future which will lift the site’s capacity to around 50,000 tpa. At this scale it is generally cost effective to install gas capture, and it is intended that the infrastructure for this be put in place.

• With three former Councils merged into a single Council, legacy bin collection systems are still in place, but there is an opportunity over the next two+ years to consider future bin sizes and collection strategies for the next contract period. This can give consideration to bin sizing and pricing that could lead to lower contamination in mixed waste bins and further increase diversionfrom-landfill rates.

• Council could seek to use its influence to require, encourage or incentivise contractors to reduce emissions through collection truck emissions and truck technology (electric, hydrogen for example).

• Council wants to improve education and literacy around waste, and to that end has already established many resource recovery initiatives at the

Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Tuncurry. This includes a tipshop, mens shed, and other initiatives. Council would like to establish a sustainability centre at the Tuncurry landfill to further inform and educate the community, and to make waste more visible to the community

• Council recently supported a reportassessing the possibility of implementing textile recycling facilities at waste management sites across the region, with an estimated 2,070 tonnes of textiles received annually at these facilities.

Council will seek grant funding for a textile recycling trial and will also investigate partnerships with textile recyclers

• Progress towards a circular economy model approach to resources, where a

‘take-make-recreate’ approach can replace the current ‘take-make-waste’ model of resource management.

The NSW Government is in the process of developing its next 20-year waste strategy, and its Net Zero Stage 1 Plan (2020-2030) has an aspirational target of zero organics to landfill by 2030. It is expected that the 20-year waste strategy will embed circular economy principles, paving the way for this to be embedded in decision making and in regional and local government waste management strategies going forward.

When completed, this strategy will inform future strategies (and funding) for regional bodies such as MidWaste, and in turn this will inform MidCoast Council’s review of its waste management 2030 strategy.

As well as emissions reduction strategies, other key aspects that are relevant from a broader emissions reduction perspective will include reduction and management of soft plastics, the continuing viability of waste glass crushing and use commercially, and the impact of global factors on operation of Council’s MRF to achieve desired contamination levels.

Scope for abatement

Measures such as landfill gas capture and flaring at the next cell in Taree, the development of FOGO, bin strategies, further development and enhancement of MRFs including textiles recovery, regional engagement (via MidWaste, Hunter Joint Organisation, etc), community (residential and business) engagement and education will all help to reduce emissions from waste.

The extent to which emissions can be reduced will be influenced to a significant extent by State-level targets, and measures and funding available to support the achievement of these in the next two decades.

In reviewing its Waste Management 2030 Strategy MidCoast Council will seek to include a focus on, and targets for, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from waste, informed by:

• 20-Year Waste Strategy for NSW (https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/yourenvironment/recycling-and-reuse/20-year-waste-strategy-for-nsw), and • MidWaste’s next Regional Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy (https://www.midwaste.org.au/about-midwaste/regional-waste-strategy/)

Risks and mitigation

Waste management strategies and waste collection contracts are long term agreements. If emissions reduction measures and goals are not built into these at the outset it can be difficult to set or achieve Council’s overall goals for emissions reduction.

Clearly many measures to reduce emissions from waste – from infrastructure to education measures – require significant funding and resources to progress, with long term funding for regional waste reduction strategies key to success. Council’s ability to achieve further deep emissions cuts will be influenced by available funding.

Costs and benefits

The costs and benefits of measures being planned and proposed by Council, as well as costs and benefits of future waste management strategies – specifically measures that can reduce emissions – will be developed by Council and used to inform decision making in coming years.