Townsville City Council - Diversion of kerbside organics (Revoked)

Townsville City Council - Diversion of kerbside organics (Revoked) is a waste diversion project located at the Stuart Waste Facility, approximately 10km south of the Townsville CBD in Queensland. Registered in May 2016 and revoked in May 2021, the project was designed to introduce a new waste diversion activity for the region. The proponent, Townsville City Council, worked alongside Mike Ritchie and Associates Pty Ltd, a prominent waste consultancy firm, to establish the framework for diverting organic waste from the council's landfill assets.

The project operated under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Source Separated Organic Waste) Methodology Determination 2016. This methodology credits emissions reductions achieved by separating organic waste (such as food and garden organics, known as FOGO) at the point of generation, typically households or businesses, and processing it through eligible treatment technologies like open windrow composting. By diverting this material from landfill, the project prevents the anaerobic decay that generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The Townsville region is characterized by a dry tropical climate (Savanna), featuring high-intensity rainfall during the summer wet season and very dry conditions for the remainder of the year. The landscape surrounding the Stuart facility is largely industrial and peri-urban, backed by the dry sclerophyll forests typical of the Townsville plains. While soil types in the broader region include cracking clays and alluvial soils, the project activity itself was centered on engineered waste management infrastructure rather than agricultural land use.

Although this specific carbon project was voluntarily revoked in May 2021 under Section 30 of the CFI Rule, this likely signaled a shift in funding strategy rather than an abandonment of the activity. Public records indicate that shortly after revocation, in October 2021, Townsville City Council launched a state-funded FOGO trial involving 1,500 households. This trial, supported by the Queensland Government, diverted organic waste to local partners like Atlas Soils to produce "HumiSoil," suggesting the council opted for direct grant funding and a pilot approach over the complex administration of generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for the initial phase.