Mirabooka Landfill Gas Project

The Mirabooka Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas capture operation located in Mirabooka, a suburb approximately 12km north of the Perth CBD in Western Australia. Registered in August 2012, the project operates on a waste management site situated near Alexander Drive, an area historically associated with the City of Stirling's waste operations and the Atlas brickworks. The project area sits within the Swan Coastal Plain, a region characterized by urban development interspersed with industrial zones and remnant bushland.

Landfill gas projects involve the installation of wells and pipework into landfill cells to extract methane generated by decomposing organic waste. Under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015, this captured gas is combusted, either via flaring or electricity generation, to convert potent methane into less harmful carbon dioxide. This specific project has transitioned through multiple methodology variations, originally operating under the 2012 "Legacy Waste" determination before moving to the 2015 standard, allowing it to credit abatement from both historical and active waste streams.

The environmental context of the Mirabooka region is defined by the Bassendean Dune system, featuring deep, leached grey sandy soils with low fertility. The climate is Mediterranean, typified by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, with the majority of the region's 700-800mm annual rainfall occurring between May and September. The project proponent, LMS Energy, is Australia's largest bioenergy company and manages the gas extraction infrastructure on the site, effectively preventing methane from venting into the atmosphere while mitigating odour issues for the surrounding residential and school precincts.