North Bannister Landfill Gas Capture and Combustion project

The North Bannister Landfill Gas Capture and Combustion project is a landfill gas abatement initiative located at the North Bannister Resource Recovery Park, approximately 100km southeast of Perth in Western Australia. Registered on November 27, 2018, the project is a partnership between the proponent, LMS Energy Pty Ltd, and the facility operator, Veolia. The site functions as a major waste management hub, receiving significant volumes of putrescible and commercial waste from the Perth metropolitan area and the Peel region.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015. This methodology credits the destruction of methane, a potent greenhouse gas generated by decomposing organic waste in landfills. By installing a new gas collection system, comprising vertical extraction wells and pipework, the project captures this gas and combusts it, typically via a flare or engine, converting the methane into less harmful carbon dioxide. This specific project addresses emissions from both legacy waste (deposited before July 2012) and non-legacy waste.

The North Bannister region sits within the Jarrah Forest bioregion, characterized by a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Annual rainfall in the area averages around 530mm to 600mm. The local terrain typically features lateritic gravels and sandy loams over clay subsoils, common to the Darling Range plateau. While the immediate project site is a dedicated waste facility, the surrounding landscape is largely comprised of state forest and agricultural land used for grazing.

An interesting aspect of this project is the collaboration between LMS Energy and Veolia. LMS Energy, a specialist in bioenergy, typically installs and operates the gas collection infrastructure at its own cost, sharing the revenue from the resulting Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and renewable energy with the landfill owner. In late 2024, the project underwent a variation to update its methodology to the latest compilation (F2021C00494), ensuring compliance with evolving standards for calculating abatement baselines.