Inkerman Landfill Gas Abatement Project

The Inkerman Landfill Gas Abatement Project is a landfill gas capture operation located in Inkerman, South Australia, approximately 85km northwest of Adelaide. Registered in July 2015, the project operates within the Cleanaway Inkerman Landfill site (also known as the "Northward Fill"), which serves as a major waste disposal facility for metropolitan Adelaide and regional areas. The project is operated by Waste Management Pacific (S.A.) Pty Limited, a subsidiary of the major waste management company Cleanaway.

Landfill gas projects under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015 involve the installation and operation of gas collection systems. These systems use a network of vertical wells and horizontal pipes to extract methane generated by decomposing organic waste. The captured gas is then combusted, either through flaring or electricity generation engines, converting the potent methane into carbon dioxide and water, thereby significantly reducing its global warming potential. This specific project covers both "legacy" waste (deposited before the carbon tax era) and "non-legacy" waste.

The Inkerman region forms part of the Adelaide Plains, an area characterized by a semi-arid Mediterranean climate with relatively low rainfall (typically averaging around 350-400mm annually). The surrounding land use is primarily agricultural, consisting of broadacre cereal cropping and livestock grazing. The soils in this coastal plain environment are typically calcareous loams and sandy soils, often overlaying clay or calcrete substrates.

An interesting note about this facility is its scale and strategic importance; it receives substantial volumes of waste from Adelaide, historically transported via a dedicated rail link. In recent years, the site has been the subject of regulatory updates allowing it to accept and contain PFAS-contaminated waste, making it one of the few facilities in the state with such permissions. The project previously held a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC107173) with the Australian Government, which was successfully completed in 2020.