Eastern Creek UR-3R Facility

Eastern Creek UR-3R Facility is an Alternative Waste Treatment (AWT) project located in the industrial suburb of Eastern Creek, approximately 35km west of the Sydney CBD in New South Wales. Registered in April 2013, the project operates within a highly developed industrial zone known for waste management infrastructure, logistics, and motorsports. The facility processes waste from the surrounding metropolitan region rather than being situated in a traditional agricultural landscape.

This project utilizes the Carbon Farming Initiative - Alternative Waste Treatment 2015 methodology. This method credits emissions reductions achieved by diverting mixed solid waste (MSW), typically "red lid bin" household waste, away from landfills where it would otherwise decompose anaerobically and generate methane. To meet standard requirements, the facility must use specific eligible technologies, such as enclosed composting or anaerobic digestion, to process the waste into alternative products like compost or process-engineered fuel.

The Eastern Creek area experiences a temperate climate with a mean annual rainfall of approximately 800mm to 900mm. The underlying geology consists largely of Wianamatta Shale, resulting in heavy clay soils (specifically the Blacktown soil landscape) that are characteristic of the Cumberland Plain. These soils are generally impermeable, which historically made the area suitable for the siting of landfills and water reservoirs.

The "UR-3R" in the project name stands for Urban Resource – Reduction, Recovery, and Recycling. The facility is capable of processing approximately 220,000 tonnes of household waste per year, representing roughly 15% of Sydney’s municipal solid waste. Notably, this project successfully completed its carbon abatement contract (CAC101978) with the Australian Government in November 2022, having delivered its committed volume of carbon credits.