An alternative fuel plant has opened in Sydney, with 50,000 truckloads of waste from landfill per year being diverted, and 50 new jobs created.
Located in Wetherill Park, the resource recovery facility will transform non-recyclable waste into solid fuel, known as Processed Engineering Fuel (PEF), which can be used in high-combustion facilities such as cement kilns.
The Turnbull Government, through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), lent $30 million to ResourceCo to help fund the Wetherill Park facility, as well as a second in a location to be announced.
“Conversion of non-recyclable waste into PEF is a win for the environment, as it has the potential to reduce Australia’s need for new landfill,” said Federal Minister for the Environment, Josh Frydenberg.
“The Wetherill Park facility is the largest of its kind in Australia – it is licensed to process around 250,000 tonnes of waste per year to produce PEF, and also will recover other commodities such as metal, clean timber and inert metal.
“The project is part of our plan for a stronger economy, backing businesses to invest and create jobs.”
The facility also received $5 million worth of grant funding from the Berejiklian Government’s Environmental Trust, as part of the New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency’s waste less, recycle more initiative.
Co-owned by ResourceCo and Cleanaway, the facility is expected to reduce the equivalent of at least four million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions during the expected life of the equipment. The PEF will be utilised by Boral in their cement kiln in Berrima as well as exported overseas.
