Bowral Waste Centre LFG Emission Avoidance Project

Bowral Waste Centre LFG Emission Avoidance Project is a landfill gas emission avoidance project located at the Bowral Waste Centre in Bowral, approximately 115km southwest of Sydney in the Southern Highlands of NSW. It was registered in May 2022 and operates across an undisclosed area encompassing the footprint of the landfill site.

Landfill gas methodology projects involve installing a gas collection system to capture and combust methane generated by the decomposition of legacy and non-legacy organic waste. By converting the captured methane into carbon dioxide via a flaring system, these projects significantly reduce the global warming potential of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

The region around Bowral is characterized by a mix of light industrial operations, residential zones, and agricultural land uses, including sheep grazing, dairy farming, and horticulture. The Southern Highlands area experiences a temperate climate with moderate to high rainfall. Regional soils are predominantly fertile Chromosols, with localized pockets of deep clay and shale.

Interestingly, the project site was originally an old clay and shale quarry operated for brick manufacturing before being converted into a landfill in the 1990s. A temporary gas flare was established at the facility in July 2021 to help manage landfill gas odours following Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) monitoring, which paved the way for the permanent gas extraction system. Furthermore, in November 2022, the project's registered participant name was officially varied from Ewen McKenzie to Bowral Waste Centre Pty Ltd.