Gaia EnviroTech Anaerobic Digestion Project - MB Distribution Centre Dandenong

Gaia EnviroTech Anaerobic Digestion Project - MB Distribution Centre Dandenong is a waste diversion and bioenergy project located in Dandenong South, roughly 35km southeast of the Melbourne CBD. Registered in March 2024, the project is situated within the Nexus Industrial Estate, specifically at the Martin Brower Distribution Centre. This facility serves as a major logistics hub for the McDonald's supply chain in Australia. The surrounding region is a high-density industrial and commercial zone, characterised by warehousing, manufacturing, and logistics operations, rather than the agricultural land use typical of many carbon projects.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Source Separated Organic Waste) Methodology Determination 2016. This methodology incentivises the diversion of organic material, such as food waste, away from landfills, where it would otherwise decompose and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Instead, the waste is separated at the point of generation and treated using anaerobic digestion technology. In this specific project, Gaia EnviroTech's modular "ELIE" anaerobic digesters are used to process the waste onsite, capturing the resulting biogas for destruction (likely via flaring or energy generation) to ensure methane is not released into the atmosphere.

While the site itself is industrial hardstand, the Dandenong South area sits within a temperate climate zone with moderate rainfall, averaging around 700-800mm annually. The natural soil profile of the region, historically part of the "sandbelt" and Carrum Carrum Swamp margins, typically consists of dark grey sands or sandy loams overlying heavy clay subsoils. These environmental conditions, while less relevant to the immediate industrial operation, historically supported market gardens before urbanisation.

An interesting aspect of this project is its integration into a "5-Star Green Star" rated facility. Martin Brower moved into this custom-built distribution centre in 2023 with a strong focus on sustainability. By processing food waste onsite using Gaia EnviroTech's automated, modular systems, the project reduces the need for waste transport trucks and closes the loop on organic waste within the supply chain, directly contributing to the proponent's and the site operator's decarbonisation goals.