Waste-to-energy facility to be built in Queensland

Recycling company Remondis Australia has announced its intention to build a $400 million waste-to-energy facility in Queensland.

To be located in Swanbank, a region of Ipswich, the facility will be able to process upwards of 500,000 tonnes of waste per year; waste that would have otherwise been sent to landfill. Remondis has over 50 of these types of facilities all over the world and is the second-largest operator of waste-to-energy facilities.

The Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) has reacted positively to the news, with CEO Gayle Sloan saying, “Remondis’s plan to significantly invest in waste and resource recovery technology in Queensland is very welcome.

“While Remondis’s proposal is at the concept stage, it has the potential to divert non-recyclable waste that was destined for landfill into a productive use. The project will comply with the waste management hierarchy, and gaining the energy value from this material is a far better alternative than creating methane and leachate.”

The WMAA understands that Remondis has been consulting on the project, including with the local community, since earlier this year. According to Sloan, the initiative is set to create new jobs in Queensland “and clearly demonstrates what industry has been saying — that the landfill levy will create jobs and drive investment opportunities in Queensland”.

She added that Queenslanders are living in “exciting times”, referring to the state’s new landfill levy and Waste and Resource Recovery strategy coming later this year.

“As an industry, we are very much looking forward to creating jobs and new facilities that focus on diverting waste from landfill and creating a circular economy in Queensland.”

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