Bowral Waste Centre LFG Emission Avoidance Project

Bowral Waste Centre LFG Emission Avoidance Project is a landfill gas capture operation located at the Bowral Waste Centre on Kiama Street, approximately 4km southeast of the Bowral town centre in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Registered in May 2022, the project operates within a privately owned resource recovery facility that sits in an industrial zone, though the broader surrounding region is renowned for cool-climate vineyards, cattle grazing, and lifestyle properties.

The project operates under the Landfill Gas methodology, which involves installing a network of wells and pipes into the waste mass to vacuum out methane generated by decomposing organic matter. Instead of allowing this potent greenhouse gas to vent into the atmosphere, it is captured and combusted (flared), converting the methane into carbon dioxide and significantly reducing its global warming potential. This specific project is described as "transitioning," which often implies an upgrade from passive gas management to a new, active collection system designed to capture gas from both legacy (older) and non-legacy waste.

Environmentally, the Southern Highlands is a high-rainfall region with a cool temperate climate, factors that typically accelerate the decomposition of organic waste and increase methane production. The site itself sits on terrain consistent with the region's Wianamatta Shale and basalt cappings, necessitating careful management of leachate and gas migration in the clay-heavy soils.

A notable aspect of this project is its operational history and management. The facility faced regulatory action from the NSW EPA in 2021 regarding odour complaints, which precipitated the installation of temporary and subsequently permanent gas flaring infrastructure, the very hardware likely underpinning this carbon project. Interestingly, environmental monitoring reports for the facility list the primary contact as Ewen McKenzie, the former Wallabies rugby union head coach, who transitioned into project management for the site's parent company after his rugby career.