Mirabooka Landfill Gas Project

The Mirabooka Landfill Gas Project is a waste management and emissions avoidance project located in the suburb of Mirabooka, approximately 10 kilometers north of the Perth central business district in Western Australia. Registered in August 2012, the project operates at the Atlas Mirabooka Landfill facility on Alexander Drive. While the site formerly operated as a sand quarry and accepted putrescible waste between 1977 and 1997, it now primarily functions as an inert landfill. The project covers the specific footprint of the waste cells where legacy organic matter continues to decompose.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015. This methodology credits the destruction of methane, a potent greenhouse gas generated by decaying organic waste in oxygen-free environments. Standard requirements involve the installation of a network of vertical wells and horizontal pipes to extract landfill gas (LFG) under vacuum. This gas is then transported to a combustion device, typically a flare or internal combustion engine, where the methane is converted into carbon dioxide, significantly reducing its global warming potential.

Regionally, the Mirabooka area is part of the Swan Coastal Plain, characterized by a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The area typically receives an average annual rainfall of approximately 700–800mm. The soil composition is predominantly sandy, consistent with the Spearwood and Bassendean Dune systems; this high permeability has historically necessitated rigorous groundwater monitoring at the site to manage leachate. The surrounding land use is a mix of urban residential development, commercial zones, and bushland reserves.

The project is managed by LMS Energy, one of Australia’s most experienced bioenergy companies, which oversees the gas capture operations while the landfill site itself is subject to separate operational licenses. An interesting aspect of this site is its "legacy" status; although the intake of putrescible (rotting) waste ceased in the late 1990s, the deep waste mass continues to generate harvestable methane decades later. Recently, the landfill site has been the subject of significant local community advocacy, successfully opposing proposals to introduce asbestos disposal to the facility, highlighting the site's proximity to schools and residential areas.