Sydney landfill crisis in pictures
By: Mike Ritchie, MRA Consulting Group
Sydney landfills are filling very fast. We are heading for not just a problem but a real disposal crisis.
Just imagine the state of the economy and public health if we could not collect and dispose of household and commercial waste.
Hopefully you are getting pictures of Naples during the strikes in your heads – piles of rubbish, rats and other vermin, public health outbreaks and social discord.
Waste never features in the media, until it does.
The NSW EPA has predicted that all putrescible landfills (which take wet waste including food) will be full by 2030 and inert landfills (taking dry waste) by 2028 i.e. much sooner.
Pictures speak a thousand words as they say so I put together the below collections using MRA’s own photos and images from Google Earth.
Putrescible landfills
Woodlawn and Lucas Heights are the key, large putrescible landfills servicing Sydney:
1. Woodlawn landfill near Goulburn operated by Veolia. It takes 1 million tonnes per year of mainly putrescible (wet) waste.
According to the NSW Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan, three of the four putrescible landfills serving Greater Sydney are scheduled to close. Assuming Woodlawn remains open post 2030, it is pretty obvious that it cannot cover the additional demand due to licensing limits and filling rates.
2. Lucas Heights landfill in Sutherland Sydney, operated by Cleanaway. It takes about 1.2 million tonnes per year. Again, mainly putrescible waste.
Industry has been calling for years for action to preserve Sydney’s valuable landfill space but government(s) of both persuasions, have been very slow to act.
Inert landfills
Our inert landfills are filling even faster.
The Genesis landfill in Eastern Creek Sydney, operated by Bingo takes about 1 million tonnes per year of inert waste including contaminated soils and construction waste that cannot be recycled.
There are a handful of other smaller inert landfills, but they are all filling quickly and some will close in the next few years. These include:
- Wanless at Clifton Rd Western Sydney
- Breen at Kurnell
- Veolia at Kemps Creek
- Kimbriki at the Northern Beaches
Newcastle (yes we are transporting waste to Newcastle. This site has long term capacity but no desire to take Sydney waste).
It is astounding that a city as sophisticated as Sydney is SO vulnerable to economic disruption as a result of decisions, or lack of decisions, with respect to waste. It is irresponsible.
The government has announced four Energy from Waste precincts but only 2 have live planning applications. Note neither are approved and both have significant community opposition. Even if both were approved tomorrow, they would take about 5 years to build and would account for only 0.8 million tonnes/year between them.
So, we have a big problem, and government needs to stop dawdling. It has current reviews into the landfill levy, planning approvals for waste, the energy from waste policy, the definitions of waste, the national waste targets and the kerbside recycling system. None have been published or finalised.
The key measures which government must enact tomorrow, include:
- Higher real landfill levies to drive materials to recycling rather than landfill
- Hypothecated (guaranteed and allocated) expenditure of those levy funds to recycling infrastructure
- Speedier approvals of recycling facilities
- Bans to landfill or mandated recycling. On this point I need to congratulate Penny Sharpe Minister for Environment on mandating commercial and residential food collection by 2026 and 2030 respectively.
- Stronger Product Stewardship making manufacturers responsible for the take-back of their products. Again, plaudits for the NSW battery stewardship proposals and Container Deposits. But it is not enough.
These initiatives work but we are running out of time. We will have a shortfall of at least 1-2 million tonnes/year by about 2030.
Note that it takes 4-8 years to get waste infrastructure such as landfills and Energy from Waste plants approved in NSW.Premier Minns and Minister Sharpe need our political support to get it done. Urgently.
All images: Google Earth and MRA Consulting Group
Mike Ritchie is the Managing Director at MRA Consulting Group.
This article has been published by the following media outlets:
