Wingfield - Veolia ResourceCo Alternative Fuels Diversion from Landfill Project

Wingfield - Veolia ResourceCo Alternative Fuels Diversion from Landfill Project is an alternative waste treatment project located in the Wingfield industrial precinct, approximately 14km north of the Adelaide CBD in South Australia. It was registered in January 2013 and operates over an unspecified area within the physical footprint of the waste facility.

Alternative waste treatment projects involve diverting eligible mixed solid waste away from landfills to prevent the anaerobic decomposition that generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The standard requirement of this methodology is to actively process the diverted waste at a treatment facility to produce useful alternative products, such as combustible fuel substitutes, compost, or biochar.

The Wingfield area is known as a major hub for heavy industry, warehousing, and commercial waste management operations. Situated on the northern Adelaide plains, the region experiences a Mediterranean climate with a moderate-to-low average annual rainfall of approximately 531mm. The underlying soils of this coastal plain are typically characterised by minimally developed rudosols, estuarine clays, and saline loams, though the immediate project environment is heavily built-up and industrialised.

This project transitioned from a revoked Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) method in 2015. The Veolia-ResourceCo facility receives commercial, construction, and industrial waste, processing the combustible, non-recyclable materials into a baseload energy substitute known as Processed Engineered Fuel (PEF) or Refuse Derived Fuel. This alternative fuel is notably supplied to domestic industrial facilities, such as Adbri Cement's Birkenhead plant, to significantly reduce their reliance on natural gas and fossil fuels. Furthermore, the project successfully completed its 424,210-unit Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC401610) with the government in August 2022.