Whytes Gully Landfill Gas Project

Whytes Gully Landfill Gas Project is a waste sector project located at the Wollongong Waste and Resource Recovery Park in Kembla Grange, approximately 12km southwest of the Wollongong CBD in New South Wales. Registered in March 2017, the project operates within the boundary of the Whytes Gully landfill, which sits at the base of the Illawarra Escarpment. The surrounding region is characterized by a mix of industrial land use, owing to the nearby Kembla Grange industrial precinct, and conservation areas associated with the steep escarpment terrain.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015. This methodology incentivizes the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by collecting methane-rich landfill gas, generated by the decomposition of organic waste, and combusting it. This process converts methane into carbon dioxide, a significantly less potent greenhouse gas. Specifically, this project involves upgrading an existing landfill gas collection system to capture and combust gas from both legacy (historical) and non-legacy waste, often utilizing flaring or electricity generation infrastructure to destroy the methane.

Environmentally, the Illawarra region typically experiences high rainfall, with annual averages often exceeding 1,000mm due to its coastal position and orographic effects from the escarpment. The local soil profiles are diverse, ranging from colluvial clays near the escarpment base to alluvial Dermosols on the coastal plain, with some specific site reports noting the presence of sandy soils that benefit from water retention improvements. Interesting developments at the Whytes Gully facility include reported efficiency upgrades that increased methane capture rates from 45% to 68%, alongside broader site innovations such as trials for biochar production and hydrogen-powered waste collection vehicles.