Capture and Combustion of Landfill Gas at Myocum Landfill

Capture and Combustion of Landfill Gas at Myocum Landfill is a landfill gas project located at the Myocum Landfill site, approximately 4.5km south of Mullumbimby and 12km northwest of Byron Bay in New South Wales. It was registered in April 2013 by the Byron Shire Council. The region is predominantly rural, known for a mix of residential areas, tourist accommodation, and agricultural land uses, particularly beef and dairy cattle farming.

Landfill gas projects involve installing a gas collection system to capture methane and other greenhouse gases generated by decomposing organic waste. Under the standard requirements of this methodology, the captured gas must be safely combusted using a flare or utilized to generate electricity, which mitigates the release of raw methane into the atmosphere.

The Myocum area experiences a humid subtropical climate and is classified as a high rainfall region, typically receiving 1,700mm to 2,000mm of rain annually. The surrounding soils in this part of the Northern Rivers generally consist of a mix of fertile volcanic and sedimentary profiles, including krasnozems, chocolate soils, red earths, and podzolics.

This specific project involves restarting a flaring system by installing a new landfill gas collection system on or after 1 July 2010. It collects gas generated from "legacy waste" that was accepted at the facility prior to 1 July 2012. Interestingly, active landfilling operations at the Myocum site officially ceased in late September 2013, and the location now operates as the Byron Resource Recovery Centre. Capturing and flaring this legacy landfill gas is a key component of the Byron Shire Council's strategy to reach zero net carbon emissions, as the waste sector historically accounts for 41% of the council's direct carbon footprint. A carbon abatement contract associated with this project (CAC102122) was successfully completed in March 2023.