Hawkesbury City Council will convert 20 tonnes of putrescible waste per day into fertiliser, biofuel and livestock feed, as part of a trial.
In partnership with Australian biotechnology company, ARC Ento Tech, the New South Wales council aims to divert the waste from landfill as part of a small-scale trial at the Hawkesbury Waste Management Facility.
The council hopes to extend the life of the waste management facility and reduce methane emissions from food and other organic matter decomposing in the landfill.
The process uses black soldier fly larvae to feed on the putrescible waste collected from the council’s weekly red bin collections and excrete a by-product that can be collected and potentially used or on-sold as a valuable fertiliser.
The larvae themselves have the potential to be on-sold as livestock feed at the end of their lifecycle. Residual organic and inorganic by-products are also captured for processing and repurposing as a biofuel.
Les Sheather, Mayor for Hawkesbury City Council, said the trial was an innovative addition to the council’s efforts to reduce waste.
“All current predictions show Greater Sydney’s existing landfill capacity will run out by 2030, including the Hawkesbury facility,” he said.
“This is a huge problem for all Sydney councils, not just the Hawkesbury.”
Sheather said the trial has the potential to extend the life of the Hawkesbury landfill.
“Ultimately, it will give our residents greater certainty around the ongoing provision of an affordable and sustainable waste service,” he said.
“But more than that, it has the potential to revolutionise how we manage waste across the country and I’m very proud that the council and our staff are leading the way.”
The trial and future facility would be operated within the agreements of the existing waste facility, meaning no additional impacts on the surrounding environment.
The Hawkesbury Planning Panel on the council gave the green light for the installation of the temporary shelters associated with the twelve-month trial.
The council is currently working with NSW EPA to attain the required regulatory approvals to run the trial.
For more information, visit: www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/
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