Australian Paper’s proposed $600 million Energy from Waste project in the Latrobe Valley could divert 650,000 tonnes of residential and commercial waste from landfill each year and reduce CO2 emissions by 540,000 tonnes a year, according to a $7.5 million feasibility study.
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| Artist's impression of Australian Paper's proposed EfW project, Latrobe Valley |
The EfW project is currently on hold before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), which suspended an earlier EPA decision to approve the project following a legal challenge by Environment East Gippsland (EEG).
“Following more than two years of detailed work, Australian Paper has released the key findings from its $7.5 million Energy from Waste (EfW) feasibility study, co-funded with support from the Victorian and Australian Governments, which confirms that an EfW facility at the Maryvale Mill would be socially, economically, environmentally, and commercially viable,” said Australian Paper in a statement.
The study examines ‘the major waste management challenge facing South East Melbourne’ and concludes that Australian Paper’s $600 million EfW facility provides a unique opportunity to address pending landfill closures. “This could prevent approximately 550,000 tonnes of waste per annum being trucked across Melbourne from municipalities in the South East to landfill sites located in the City’s West,” it says.
The facility would also allow Australian Paper to return significant quantities of natural gas back to Victorian households and create hundreds of ongoing jobs in the Latrobe Valley.
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| "A proven and reliable low emissions technology": Peter Williams, AP COO |
“This project would result in an investment of over $600 million in the Latrobe Valley, creating 1,046 jobs per annum for the three years of construction, and supporting 911 direct and indirect jobs ongoing across Victoria,” said Peter Williams, Australian Paper’s Chief Operating Officer.
“Importantly, with Melbourne’s looming landfill challenge, Australian Paper’s EfW project is the missing link in waste management infrastructure for the South East, creating efficient energy from residual household and commercial waste, achieving a more sustainable outcome than disposal to landfills. The facility would reduce CO2 emissions by more than 540,000 tonnes per year.
“By diverting 650,000 tonnes per annum of residential and commercial waste from Victorian landfill, the facility could provide Melbourne with essential waste management and resource recovery infrastructure.”
Williams noted that by replacing natural gas at the Maryvale site, Australian Paper would return enough gas to the market to meet the annual needs of up to 70,000 Victorian households annually.
“EfW technology is a proven and reliable low emissions technology, meeting the strictest European emissions standards and has been used extensively in Europe, Japan and North America for decades,” he said.
“Australian Paper is now focused on taking this important regional investment for the Latrobe Valley to the Development Stage where with our partner SUEZ we will work to finalise approvals and seek to secure long term waste supply contracts as well as appoint suitable partners to undertake the engineering, procurement and construction phases.”
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) suspended an earlier EPA decision to approve the project, after EEG - a 35-year-old environmental group with 400 members and 10,000 Facebook followers - lodged a last-minute application with VCAT for a review of the decision.
“There is some pollution control technology but there will still be toxic pollution coming out of the stack," said Dr Nick Aberle from Environment Victoria, another local group opposed to the plant.
The EPA had approved the project in November 2018. Australian Paper has been working in partnership with waste management firm Suez to secure 25-year contracts with local councils for the supply of about two-thirds of Melbourne’s total household waste.
Lawyers for EEG and Australian Paper – acquired for $700 million in 2009 by Nippon Paper Industries - had scheduled a compulsory conference for May 2019.
A copy of the Feasibility Study Summary can be found at www.australianpaper.com.au
