Townsville SSO kerbside diversion project

Townsville SSO kerbside diversion project is a waste diversion initiative located at the Stuart Waste Facility, approximately 10km south of the Townsville CBD in Queensland. Registered on August 10, 2023, the project serves the Townsville City Council local government area. While the collection of waste occurs across participating residential suburbs such as Idalia, Burdell, Heatley, and Vincent, the project's central processing and credit calculation point aligns with the Council’s major waste infrastructure at Stuart.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Source Separated Organic Waste) Methodology Determination 2016. This methodology awards carbon credits for diverting eligible organic material, specifically Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO), away from landfills. By preventing this organic matter from decomposing anaerobically in a landfill, the project avoids the generation of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Instead, the waste is treated through alternative means such as composting or anaerobic digestion.

The Townsville region is characterized by a "dry tropics" climate, distinct from the wet tropics further north. It experiences a wet season with high humidity and rainfall during summer and a dry, mild winter. Average annual rainfall is approximately 1,100mm, though this is highly variable. The soils in the region are diverse, ranging from reactive cracking clays and solodized solonetz in the coastal plains to alluvial soils along river systems like the Ross River. The area surrounding the project site at Stuart is primarily industrial and waste management zoned, bordered by grazing land and dry tropical savanna.

This project is linked to Townsville City Council's broader "Zero Waste to Landfill" strategy. Public reports indicate the Council initiated FOGO trials to process waste into soil conditioners (such as "HumiSoil") using open windrow and covered static pile composting techniques. While the project registration permits the transfer of biogas to combustion devices, often associated with anaerobic digesters, current public operational reports primarily highlight composting activities which sequester carbon in soil products rather than generating energy.