ARRC seeks feedback on alternative waste treatment method
The Australian Resources Recovery Council (ARRC) is seeking feedback on a consultation paper to develop a proposed new Alternative Waste Treatment (AWT) method under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
“We are working on a new AWT method to encourage innovation and investment in waste management and resources recovery [which] reduces emissions and recovers valuable resources by managing wastes that would otherwise have gone to landfill,” said ARRC CEO Haydee Forster.
Methods are the rules for creating carbon credits for reducing or avoiding emissions.
The Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Josh Wilson MP, appointed ARRC to lead development of a new AWT method to replace the previous method that expired on 31 March 2025. ARRC is working closely with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC), and AWT stakeholders.
“The aim is to build on and refine the 2015 method rather than start from a blank slate. The consultation paper focuses on changes that could improve functionality, effectiveness and opportunities while ensuring alignment with the ACCU Scheme’s integrity standards.”
The key proposed changes aim to:
- provide flexibility to incentivise new or emerging technologies without needing to vary the new method
- provide certainty for investors given AWT facilities require substantial investment and involve long approval processes
- update emissions factors and calculations based on new data, practices and technologies.
ARRC welcomes feedback from industry, local governments, environment protection authorities and other stakeholders including the community. Evidence on project costs, approval processes and operating conditions is particularly welcome.
This is the first round of consultation on the proposed new AWT method. The ERAC will conduct a separate public consultation on the draft determination.
Read the consultation paper and complete the online feedback form at ausrrc.com.au. Submissions close at 11:59 pm AEST on 29 November 2026.
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