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October Update

October Update
News and resources | Parkes Energy Recovery October Update

Good afternoon

October was a big month for us, and I know for many of you too.

We’ve been busy preparing our Parkes office and community information hub, which I’m excited to share is now open by appointment. We’d love to meet with local residents and interested community members to discuss the project and answer any questions you have. See booking details below.

At the same time, we’ve progressed work on our project proposal for the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. This is the first formal step in the Planning process as we move through developing our Environmental Impact Statement.

We’re also well advanced on a number of the technical assessments we know are of most interest to you, including air quality and agricultural impact, among others. Each assessment will test a range of potential impact scenarios, aligned with global standards, to ensure they provide the evidence the community and decision-makers are looking for. We’ll keep you posted on our progress through the Planning process, including flagging to you when our reports go on public exhibition for your review.

The independent NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Energy-from-Waste also closed for submissions at the end of last month. We’ve made ours and welcome the opportunity to contribute to that process as it moves forward.

Throughout the year, a comparison we’ve consistently heard has been between the Energy-from-Waste technology we are proposing and incinerators used throughout the 1900s – which were rightly shut down decades ago.

The Energy-from-Waste technology that we’re proposing is very well proven elsewhere but is new to NSW, so we wanted to share some more background on how it differs from those days of incinerators. More information on that is to the right and a link to the document is below.

News of a major fire at a landfill in Sydney’s south-west recently only serves to emphasise why Energy-from-Waste technology is needed for a safer and more closely regulated and monitored solution to the State’s rising residual waste.

Until next time.

Ed Nicholas
Director, Parkes Energy Recovery

What’s happened this month?

Our community information hub is now open by appointment. This space is available for interested community members to meet with our team, ask questions and access up-to-date information about the project. To make a booking, please contact info@parkesenergy.com.au.

Submissions to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into proposed NSW Energy-from-Waste facilities closed last month. We lodged our submission, which reinforces our openness to a process that shares the science and answers questions on a technology new to the State. You can read our submission here.

We have developed a document which outlines how Energy-from-Waste facilities have progressed since ‘incinerators’ in the 1900s, and how today’s technology provides far greater benefit compared to the facilities of that time, and to the landfills of today.

Myth of the month

Myth

Landfill is safer than Energy-from-Waste.

Fact

False. Modern Energy-from-Waste facilities are tightly regulated pieces of infrastructure that use advanced computer-controlled combustion, high-efficiency boilers and multi-stage flue-gas treatment to manage emissions and protect air quality. Continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) operate 24/7 to ensure performance stays within strict limits set by the environmental regulator, EPA NSW.

By comparison, landfills are a leading source of methane – one of the most powerful forms of greenhouse gas – and pose safety and environmental risks through fires, odour and leachate. For these reasons, NSW policy recognises Energy-from-Waste as the preferred option for waste that cannot be recycled or reused.

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