The Energy from Waste debate surfaced again this week when Residents Against Richmond Valley Incinerator (RARVI), an organisation committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of Northern Rivers residents, released a statement asking for people to sign a petition with the goal of reaching 20,000 signatures by April 2024 so Energy from Waste (EfW) can be debated in parliament.

Despite a repeated denial by Richmond Valley Council saying it has no intention of building such a facility and no one has come forward with a proposal to do so, RARVI continue to highlight the possibility.

The main reason is that the Regional Job Precinct at Casino is mentioned in the NSW Government's Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan along with South Goulburn and West Lithgow. These sites have been identified as possible EfW facilities subject to development approval in the future.

Before we get into both sides, what is EfW?

The NSW Government says Energy from waste is an emerging technology in Australia and involves the thermal treatment of waste or waste-derived materials for the recovery of energy.

There are four approved EfW facilities in Western Australia that are being constructed with the largest at Kwinana.

The Kwinana project will be able to process up to 400,000 tonnes of residual waste each year powering 50,000 households and diverting approximately 25 per cent of Perth’s post-recycling rubbish from landfill sites.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency says Macquarie Capital estimates that approximately 486,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will be avoided per year, compared with the carbon dioxide emitted from grid-generated electricity in Western Australia. 

Veolia is a company building EfW sites in W.A., below is a video showing how the process works.

The first East Rockingham EfW facility is due to go live at the end of 2024 after suffering delays due to COVID.

Waste in landfills creates methane which has a more detrimental effect than carbon dioxide. The largest methane producers are the natural gas industry and agriculture (which is declining) with waste a contributor.

A CSIRO report from 202 says, "Once emitted, methane stays in the atmosphere for about nine years – a far shorter period than carbon dioxide. However, its global warming potential is 86 times higher than carbon dioxide when averaged over 20 years and 28 times higher over 100 years."

The NSW Government say they have established a policy and strategic framework to guide the assessment of energy from waste proposals in NSW. This framework ensures energy from waste facilities meet strict performance standards and are located in areas that best address the State’s waste management needs.

"Energy from waste proposals must represent the most efficient use of the resource and demonstrate they are using international best practice techniques to ensure air quality and human health are protected."

EfW believers EfW is a transition to Australia achieving its 2030 Emissions Reduction Target of 43% below 2005 levels and Net Zero by 2050.

Detractors, like RARVI, call EfW 'incinerators'.

In a statement sent to media this week RARVI said, "EfW incinerators pose serious environmental and health risks to communities, and RARVI is urging citizens to register their opposition to safeguard the well-being of the region.

The RARVI website states, "While it does appear attractive to be able to convert solid waste into energy, the reality is that much of the mooted WtE technology involves the incineration of waste, resulting in toxic air emissions and ash residues for a questionable amount of energy production."

RARVI's statement also said:

Richmond Valley Council (RVC) continues to issue reassuring statements saying ‘there is no proposal for an energy from waste facility to be built in Casino’ (Valley Views newsletter 11.Nov 2023).

However, Council is on record as stating ‘A detailed report is being prepared to inform the next steps of pursuing the introduction of energy-from-waste to the Northern rivers of NSW’ (Mayoral Minute, RVC general meeting, March 2019).

In addition, at the June 2023 RVC general meeting a motion put forward by Councillor Deegan to amend the Richmond Valley Council Community Strategic Plan to oppose EfW within the Richmond Valley was defeated 5-2.

Council’s webpage titled Managing Richmond Valley’s Waste is heavily weighted towards incineration as an option for waste disposal. While there may not be a specific proposal for an EfW facility right now, despite Council’s reassurances, it is clear that the option is still alive and the threat real.

Dr. Ros Irwin of RARVI emphasises the significance of collective action. "It is vitally important for concerned residents to voice their opposition to Energy from Waste incinerators in NSW, and particularly the one proposed for the Regional Jobs Precinct in Casino. Together, we can make a difference and protect the health and environment of our community."

You can sign the online petition which is hosted on the official NSW Parliament website: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/epetition-details.aspx?q=rxOVguqv9WYSEVVTphFzag.

In response, Richmond Valley Council said:

Despite widespread misinformation, there is no proposal for an energy-from-waste facility to be built in the Richmond Valley.

Richmond Valley Council’s General Manager Vaughan Macdonald said the Regional Job Precinct at Casino had been identified in the NSW Government’s Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan as a site where an energy-from-waste facility may be permissible, subject to development approval in the future.

However, Mr Macdonald said Council had no intention of building such a facility and no one else had come forward with a proposal to do so.

He said Council had investigated a range of options for dealing with residual waste because the current practice of landfilling waste and/or transporting it to Queensland was unsustainable.

"Despite our successful recycling and organics programs, our community still creates more than 9000 tonnes of residual waste each year,” Mr Macdonald said.

“We transport most of this waste to Queensland landfill sites, at an annual cost of more than $2 million.”

Mr Macdonald said most councils on the North Coast were experiencing similar challenges with waste and Richmond Valley Council had worked with 12 other councils to explore alternatives.

He said as part of this process, modern energy-from-waste facilities were investigated as a possible solution, however, Richmond Valley Council resolved at its November 2022 meeting to pause any active investigation of energy-from-waste facilities and to focus on other waste streams such as food organics and recycling.

He said although energy-from-waste facilities had been operating overseas for more than 20 years, they were new to Australia and both the Federal and State governments were still refining the regulatory issues around them, informed by detailed assessments by the NSW Government’s Chief Scientist and Engineer.

“Energy-from-waste facilities are too hi-tech and expensive for Council to contemplate building, so any future proposal would need to come from private enterprise,” Mr Macdonald said.

“A private investor would first have to determine if such a facility was commercially viable, find a suitable block of land, and go through a lengthy assessment and approval process with the NSW Government.

“This would include extensive consultation with the community and environmental regulators to obtain a social licence for the facility.

“If a facility was approved, it would take several years to construct and commission and would then be subject to 24-hour emissions monitoring by regulators.”

Mr Macdonald said because there were many unknowns in this scenario, Council had no commitment to supporting the building of an energy-from-waste facility and continued to consider all options for its residual waste.

He said there were a lot of opinions about current waste issues and Richmond Valley Council was keeping an open mind about possible solutions as it worked to resolve the community’s residual waste problem.

“Council is finalising the construction of a new landfill cell at its Nammoona facility, which will provide capacity for more than 10 years of residual waste from the Richmond Valley,” he said.

“We will continue to explore other technologies and processes to manage the waste generated by our residents and businesses.”

Mr Macdonald said Council would monitor any developments elsewhere in NSW, such as the Parkes Special Activation Precinct where a procurement process was underway for an energy-from-waste facility.

“We have been transparent on this issue throughout and will continue to provide regular updates to our community through Council reports and other communications,” he said.

“However, we need to be clear on the fact there is currently no proposal for an energy-from-waste facility in the Richmond Valley.”

While RARVI try to get enough votes to argue against approving EfW sites in NSW parliament, waste will be a hot topic during 2024 not only for Lismore but all regional councils, especially with elections coming up in September this year.