Cleanaway targets cleaner ways to improve waste management with CEFC finance

23 August 2017

Australian waste management company Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd 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 (CEFC).

CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said the finance would 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 currently generates around 48 million tonnes of waste a year, with as much as 44 per cent of this ending up as landfill," Mr 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 CEFC 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 CEFC finance, Cleanaway will develop a best-in-class resource recovery centre at Erskine Park in NSW that will be capable of processing 150,000 tonnes of waste a year, diverting approximately 40 per cent of waste volume from landfill.

"This is a milestone transaction for the CEFC in the area of waste and bioenergy, which has a vital role to play in our clean energy transition," Mr Anning said.

"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.  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 Cleanaway was committed to helping industry, businesses and householders create a more sustainable Australia.

"We already have a strong focus on sustainable practices and we are excited about what further investment this will enable us to achieve," Mr Bansal said.

"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."

Cleanaway's existing commitments to sustainability has already achieved:

• Around 120 million cubic metres of gas captured annually from its landfill sites and converted into enough renewable energy to power more than 18,000 homes
• Collection and recycling of 130 million litres of used mineral oil each year - offsetting Australia's annual requirements for oil by 900,000 barrels 
• Processing more than 550 million litres of liquid waste each year, and providing a wide range of environmentally focused industrial services around the country 

The CEFC has released two reports on the waste and bioenergy sectors: Australian bioenergy and energy from waste market report and a state-by-state update analysis of the waste sector. Previous CEFC investments in the sector include:

• $30 million to leading resource recovery company ResourceCo to transform selected non-recyclable waste streams into Processed Engineered Fuel (PEF)
• $100 million towards the Australian Bioenergy Fund, to invest in bioenergy and energy from waste projects
• A $10 million commitment to Landfill Gas Industries to expand bioenergy at landfill sites in Central and Southern Queensland

The CEFC's finance for Cleanaway is another example of its focus on delivering clean energy solutions in Australian cities, via its Sustainable Cities Investment Program.

ABOUT CLEANAWAY (ASX:CWY)

Cleanaway Waste Management Limited is Australia's leading waste management company, operating a national network of unique collection, processing, treatment and landfill assets from over 180 locations across Australia. Our philosophy is that all waste is a resource and we aim to incorporate recovery, recycling and reuse throughout our operations and those of our clients. Our mission is to make a sustainable future possible for all our stakeholders.
For more information, visit www.cleanaway.com.au/