Australian waste management company Cleanaway Waste Management is accelerating its best practice sustainable waste management activities with an array of projects to be financed through a $90 million corporate loan from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
The finance will be used across a range of eligible waste management projects to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, as well as generating renewable energy and avoiding carbon emissions.
“Australia generates around 48 million tonnes of waste a year, with as much as 44% of this ending up as landfill,” CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said.
“It is critical that we reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and better manage landfill emissions. Cleanaway’s position as the largest waste management and industrial services company in Australia means it can lead the waste sector in demonstrating the benefits of best practice clean energy operations in reducing emissions.”
Cleanaway operates a national network of unique waste collection, processing, treatment and landfill assets from more than 180 locations across Australia.
CEFC waste sector lead Henry Anning said the finance would enable the company to fast track a range of eligible projects, including facilities for organics processing and resource recovery, as well as landfill gas projects.
In its first confirmed project to draw on the finance, Cleanaway will develop a resource recovery centre at Erskine Park in NSW capable of processing 150,000 tonnes of waste a year, diverting about 40% of waste volume from landfill.
“As our first major transaction with a leading Australian waste management company, we are looking to demonstrate how clean energy technologies can be used to tackle the problem of waste emissions,” Anning said.
“Cleanaway is already using innovative solutions to generate renewable energy from waste and reduce landfill, and the company will achieve further significant emissions reductions with this CEFC finance.”
Cleanaway CEO Vik Bansal said the company was committed to helping industry, businesses and householders create a more sustainable Australia.
“This CEFC finance will help us accelerate moves away from traditional landfill solutions by adopting technologies and practices that will help us achieve better environmental, social and economic outcomes,” Bansal said.