SITA Elizabeth Drive Landfill Gas Capture (flaring & electricity generation) - Kemps Creek project

SITA Elizabeth Drive Landfill Gas Capture (flaring & electricity generation) - Kemps Creek project is a landfill gas project located at the Kemps Creek Resource Recovery Park, approximately 40 to 45 kilometers west of the Sydney Central Business District in New South Wales. The facility is situated on Elizabeth Drive, roughly 5 kilometers west of the Kemps Creek township and immediately adjacent to the developing Western Sydney International Airport at Badgerys Creek. Originally registered in May 2013, the project operates on a site historically used for quarrying and waste management, surrounded by a mix of rural, agricultural, and increasingly industrial land uses associated with the new airport infrastructure.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2021. Landfill gas projects involve the installation of a network of wells and pipes to capture methane, a potent greenhouse gas produced by the decomposition of organic waste in oxygen-free environments. Instead of venting this gas into the atmosphere, the project captures and combusts it. As the project name suggests, the captured gas is used to generate electricity, likely via on-site gas engines, which converts the methane into less harmful carbon dioxide and provides a renewable energy source that feeds into the grid or powers site operations.

Environmentally, the Kemps Creek region sits within the Cumberland Plain of the Sydney Basin, characterized by a warm, temperate climate with moderate annual rainfall averaging between 700mm and 800mm. The local geology is dominated by Wianamatta Shale, resulting in heavy, reactive clay soils often described as Bringelly Shale clays. These environmental factors influence the management of leachate and surface water at the landfill, which are critical operational considerations alongside gas capture.

A notable aspect of this project is its corporate history, which reflects the consolidation of Australia's waste management sector. The project was originally registered by SITA Australia, which later became Suez Australia. In late 2021, Cleanaway Solid Waste Pty Ltd acquired Suez's post-collection assets in Sydney, including the Elizabeth Drive landfill, and subsequently became the project proponent. The site also hosts an Advanced Resource Recovery Technology (ARRT) facility, which processes household waste to recover recyclables and organic material, further diverting waste from the landfill cells where the gas capture system operates.