2 SERVICES Waste Management Association of Australia. the Waste Manageme

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1 Wast Assoc 2 SERVICES Waste Management Association of Australia Joe Pickin, Chair of the National Carbon Division Max Spedding, Chair of the National Landfill Division The waste managemen the Waste Manageme WMAA was formed i national association w equipment suppliers, such as Biohazardous and have their own un National Divisions pr the special interest gro

2 MARCH/APRIL 2013 The Australian Business Journal AUB SERVICES 3 e Management iation of Australia t and resource recovery industry is as multi-faceted as they come, and according to the CEO of nt Association of Australia (WMAA), Valerie Southam, they have the whole industry covered. n 1991, embarking as a state by state volunteer organisation, and has since grown to become a ith over 3000 professional members. The stakeholders cover all areas of the industry and include service providers, corporate members, and government agencies. There are 35 working groups Waste, Organics Recycling, Waste Education and Landfill, which operate within WMAA ique interests and investments. State working groups network to focus on local matters while ovide leadership in bringing state groups together to discuss national topics. What is great about ups, is that the people in them are passionate about their industry, Southam remarks.

3 4 SERVICES Waste Management Association of Australia In addition to the challenge of the diversity of operations within this sector, waste management is a state government responsibility, leading to differing rules, regulations and definitions between the states. Inconsistencies such as these create complex situations for companies to aggregate data, communicate information or even share best practice across the states in Australia; however Southam explains that WMAA has been pivotal in overcoming these obstacles to link companies in this industry. WMAA s Role Southam clarifies that WMAA is not a lobby organisation because of the competing interests between stakeholders. She states, We are more interested in getting people together and providing a forum for debate and discussion amongst various stakeholders, for solutions that work for everyone... There is no one size fits all. WMAA accomplishes this goal by working with the special interest groups in partnership to run conferences, facilitate learning, and engage the industry in sharing high quality knowledge and best practice locally as well as internationally. WMAA also converses with government about issues to provide input from the industry s perspective. One of WMAA s significant roles is to support its members through various state and national issues. Currently at the forefront of national topics, is the controversial federal government imposed carbon tax. In order to bring clarity to the subject, AUBJ spoke with two of WMAA s National Chairs, Joe Pickin, Chair of the National Carbon Division and Max Spedding, Chair of the National Landfill Division. Both professionals have been working within the industry to help translate and manage the carbon tax implications for the waste management and resource recovery sector. Not a Tax? While the common term used is carbon tax, Pickin explains that it is not a tax at all. Instead, it is a carbon trading system called The Carbon Pricing Mechanism which has a three year fixed price of $23.00 per tonne of C02 equivalent for facilities over the tonne threshold. So, for three years it acts as a tax and what Pickin calls a warm-up to a system where the price of permits floats from 2015 onward. That is, the price will be driven by supply and demand in the Australian and international markets. Repercussions for the Industry Methane has a warming potential that is 25

4 MARCH/APRIL 2013 The Australian Business Journal 5 SHAPING THE FUTURE OF RESOURCE RECOVERY AS AN AUSTRALIAN LEADER IN ADVANCED RESOURCE RECOVERY, RECYCLING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT, SITA AUSTRALIA HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE DAILY LIVES OF OVER 3.7 MILLION INDIVIDUALS, 56,000 BUSINESSES AND 55 MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS AUSTRALIA. SITA IS LEADING THE CHANGE FROM TRADITIONAL WASTE DISPOSAL TO ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE RECOVERY SOLUTIONS. WITH INTEGRATED OPERATIONS ACROSS ALL LEVELS OF THE RESOURCE RECOVERY CHAIN, WE PROVIDE BEST PRACTICE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS FOR COLLECTION, RECOVERY, RECYCLING AND SAFE DISPOSAL OF NON-RECOVERABLE RESIDUALS. DID YOU KNOW? SITA is the exclusive platinum member of the Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA). For many years, SITA has supported WMAA s work in promoting sustainable waste management practices across Australia.

5 6 SERVICES Waste Management Association of Australia times greater than carbon dioxide. Spedding explains that an unfortunate feature of a well run landfill is the emission of methane that is produced when organic material decomposes in anaerobic conditions. And although Australian landfills represent only 2% of Australia s global warming gases, it is the waste sector hit hardest by the three year fixed price. Spedding says, Landfill gas can be avoided, managed and utilised, and the industry wants to pull its weight (to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) ; nevertheless, both Spedding and Pickin agree that the repercussions of the fixed price have been dire. Gas capture is an essential part of landfill and has been since about 1992, Spedding explains, and the majority of the large landfills in Australia already capture gas to generate electricity or burn it to reduce its warming potential. The problem does not lie in the capture of landfill gas, but rather in the measurement of residual gas, in order to calculate the rate to pay for emissions under the Carbon Pricing Mechanism. An Educated Guess The method used to approximate residual emissions from landfills is an international standard tool called the First Order Decay Model. It applies formulas and assumes decay curves for each type of waste. Along with this model, the government assumes that gas collection systems can remove no more than 75% of gas emissions, leaving 25% as residual gas, whether or not that is actually the case. Spedding reports that reality can stray from the model, as some landfills are finding the gas collected is only one-third of the estimated model and others are three times the model estimate. With every tonne initially costing $23.00, the discrepancies can be costly. Spedding adds, The interpretation of the waste stream also creates major anomalies, because the system is lacking flexibility and does not make concessions for customers with inert waste (such as bricks) and remove that waste from the calculation. According to Pickin, The squeakiest wheel is the decay rate. He explains that decomposition of waste is not linear and happens very slowly, with the majority of the waste breaking down within 50 years. Wet conditions make organic materials degrade more rapidly, adding to the uncertainty of the decay rate. A rough estimate can be made for gas emissions in 5 to 10 years, but it is nearly impossible to guess the price of carbon at the time of emission. Pickin explains that the government s biggest mistake was they did not make permits bankable for the first 3 years, to control the liability over the decay life of the waste. Consequently, landfill operators are forced to determine the rate to charge customers

6 MARCH/APRIL 2013 The Australian Business Journal 7 little incentive to abate more gas. He believes LANDFILL GAS EXTRACTION SYSTEMS design installation operation power generation M: M: for ambiguous future liabilities. To add to the turmoil are the existing contracts where both the customer and the landfill operator must agree on a price to cover the liability. Some of those with existing contracts are engaging in excruciating arguments about what might the price be in 2015, Pickin remarks. The Bottom Line YOUR ENERGY Many claim to be in the landfill gas industry but few can claim to specialise What we really needed was something to encourage landfills to abate more than its regulatory baseline, Spedding remarks, because landfills that fall below the threshold (under the Carbon Pricing Mechanism) have that taking full advantage of the Carbon Farming Initiative government incentive program could have achieved more emission reduction, but the complexity of the scheme will deter many small land fillers. Both Spedding and Pickin are in agreement that reducing the carbon footprint of landfills is essential to the progression and sustainability of the industry; however, the implementation of the Carbon Pricing Mechanism to reduce emissions for all big emitters in Australia did not fit this unique sector. In the short term it has been a festival for lawyers and consultants, Pickin remarks. and it has been a very difficult road. In the long-term, landfills will continue to be a fundamental part of waste management infrastructure in Australia and being a comparatively low 2% of all carbon emissions, Pickin says, The industry has to go with the flow and try to fit with the overall policy architecture. WMAA will continue to assist the waste management and resource recovery industry in working through such issues and provide a platform for its members to engage in meaningful dialogue to find viable solutions for the future. AUB

7 MArcH/APRIL 2013 The Australian Business Journal AUB 81 SERVICES 80 SITA SITA, a leader in sustainable waste management and resource recovery in Australia has a reason to be proud, says Andrew Kosciuszko, Sydney Landfills Manager who has worked at SITA since SITA controls and manages over 100 sites throughout Australia with operations across the whole value chain of waste management and resource recovery. Their operations have a broad reach across Australia and include 8 engineered landfills, 12 transfer stations, 7 Advanced Resource Recovery Technology (ARRT) Facilities, 7 Organic Resource Recovery Facilities, 3 Material Recycling Facilities and 14 other treatment facilities. Furthermore, they service 56,000 commercial and industrial customers and more than 3.7 million residents a week. It is therefore not surprising that Kosciuszko declares SITA to have a strong history of growth and strategic acquisitions.

8 82 Services SITA

9 MArcH/APRIL 2013 The Australian Business Journal 83 from the collection of the landfill s gas to directly power their neighbouring Advanced Resource Recovery Technology (ARRT) Facility. It s like closing the loop on landfill gas, declares Kosciuszko. SITA hopes to commence with the installation of the infrastructure in the near future. Kosciuszko explains that another example Andrew Kosciuszko, Sydney Landfills Manager Leading Change in Waste Management SITA aims to provide sustainable resource recovery solutions throughout their operations. Landfills under the management of Kosciuszko have the infrastructure in place to collect landfill gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. He reports that the gas capture performance can be even greater than the 75% maximum imposed by the Method 1. For example, Kosciuszko states that at SITA s Lucas Heights Landfill facility, we have 20 gas engines collecting gas and producing about 17 megawatts of electrical generation which is fed back to the power grid. He adds that beyond the obvious environmental benefits, it also controls the fugitive emissions that cause landfill gas odors. Innovative methodologies will also be utilized at SITA s Elizabeth Drive Landfill, where they are laying the groundwork to be the first facility in Australia to use some of the energy generated of SITA s innovative approach can be seen at the SITA Resource Co. facility which manufactures Alternative Fuels and is situated in Adelaide SA. They are taking commercial and industrial (C&I) and construction and demolition (C&D) waste and processing that into an Alternative Fuel that is supplied to a cement company, Adelaide Brighton Cement. This pioneering approach provides about tonnes of alternative fuels per annum to the cement company, converting about tonnes of waste into approximately tonnes of fuel -- thus displacing fossil fuels and diverting at over 90% of the waste from landfill, as other materials are also recovered for re-use. Taxing Waste Management Australia has introduced a federal carbon tax, which covers the waste management sector. This is in addition to the state-imposed landfill levies that already exist in this industry. The carbon tax as it applies to the waste industry is mainly related to the landfills. According to Kosciuszko,

10 84 Services SITA The largest impact is from landfill gas emissions resulting from the anaerobic decomposition of waste which generates landfill gases. He adds, SITA sees it as being an additional pricing signal for the recovery of waste and avoidance of the filling of the landfill by waste that shouldn t be there. When comparing the federal carbon tax to the state taxes, Kosciuszko explains that in terms of dollars, the various states landfill taxes are substantially larger. He says, Typically most of the states have taxes around the $35.00 a tonne mark. In NSW it is much higher at $95.20 per tonne. Queensland is the only state that doesn t have any landfill levy at all. In contrast, the new carbon tax is $23.00 per tonne of C02 equivalent for landfills that generate over the tonne C02 equivalent mark. nominally at $23.00 a tonne of CO2 equivalent, whilst the reality requires a complex sophisticated approach combining technical, operational and financial considerations over the next 50 years. One of the main issues with the carbon tax is that landfills are classifying their waste streams based on their inferred composition rather than their actual composition. Kosciuszko comments, SITA and The Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) are supporting the federal government to come up with a better audit process for the waste streams. But direct measurement of actual emissions of landfill gas is not straight forward. There is some work being done to try and increase the robustness of the measurement techniques so that we can move to a direct measurement methodology, remarks Kosciuszko. Measuring Carbon Gas Emissions The way that the carbon tax has been applied is based on the decomposition values of the various waste streams that go to landfill, Kosciuszko says. They are Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) (1.19 tons of CO2/ ton of waste disposed), C&I waste (1.08 tons of CO2 / ton of waste disposed), and C&D waste (0.17 tons of CO2/ ton of waste disposed). He further explains that some landfills have taken those default values and applied them to the waste streams coming in based on the carbon tax, WMAA Membership SITA has been a member of WMAA since 1998 and Kosciuszko has been the Chair of the NSW Landfill working group for a large part of that time since he joined SITA in SITA is a major sponsor WMAA, being the sole platinum member of the organization since March We see WMAA as being a really important organization within NSW and Australia. Kosciuszko says. He also talks about the success of their first landfill conference in Brisbane in 2005, There was

11 MArcH/APRIL 2013 The Australian Business Journal 85 definitely a need for those sorts of conferences in Australia and we raised a significant amount of funds for the WMAA. They provide a platform for waste industry leaders to share industry knowledge. Since 2005, landfill conferences have also incorporated Transfer Station operations with the Landfill working groups. They have been well attended and have become a key part of the WMAA conference agenda. For SITA, their membership with WMAA provides opportunities to showcase their industry leadership position and the innovations they are bringing to the market. Kosciuszko discusses another benefit of membership: WMAA is not just about landfill. It is about a variety of working groups that cover the whole gamut of activities in which SITA is involved and this allows us to participate in all aspects of the industry. Kosciuszko speaks highly of SITA s longstanding relationship with WMAA, I find the professionalism of the executive and the working groups very high. The working groups incorporate different viewpoints and even encourage creative tension which bodes well for the industry. It has been a great way of meeting professionals within the industry to exchange ideas. I recommend membership of the Waste Management Association to anybody working in the waste industry. SITA expects this partnership will continue long into the future, to aid in the advancement of their sustainable waste management practices. AUB