State of Play Report - Waste

Reducing our emissions

Tasmania recorded net zero greenhouse gas emissions for the first time in 2013, and we have maintained our net zero status in the years since. However, our emissions profile is not guaranteed into the future, and we know we must do more to maintain our net zero status by reducing emissions in all our sectors, while also increasing the carbon stored in our forests.

Tasmania’s legislated economy-wide target of net zero emissions, or lower, from 2030, provides a flexible approach to emissions reduction and acknowledges that different sectors have different opportunities to reduce their emissions. For some sectors, more time, support and technology will be needed to transition to a low emissions future. To ensure a practical and balanced approach to reducing emissions from our key sectors and building resilience to climate change, Tasmania’s climate change legislation includes a requirement to develop sector-based Emissions Reduction and Resilience Plans (Plans).

The Plan for the transport sector is to be completed by November 2023, while all other Plans are to be completed by November 2024.

This State of Play Report has been prepared as the first step in the preparation of a Plan for the waste sector. It provides an overview of the waste sector in Tasmania to inform the identification of gaps and future opportunities for the draft Plan, which is expected to be released for public consultation later in 2023.

Tasmania’s waste sector

The waste sector is essential to the Tasmanian community, managing the state’s household, commercial and industrial waste and recycling, and the treatment of wastewater.

The waste sector currently accounts for around 5 per cent of Tasmania’s greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF).

The main sources of emissions from the sector are from organic waste in landfills and the treatment of wastewater. Our manufacturing, commercial and municipal solid waste streams are the largest contributors to organic waste in landfill and present important opportunities for reducing emissions.

The most efficient ways of reducing emissions from the sector are to reduce the generation of organic waste, followed by options for diverting the waste we do generate through reuse, recycling and recovering to create compost, mulch, bioenergy and other products.

There are many initiatives underway at an international, national, state and local government level working towards an international target to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2030.

Tasmania’s Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008 (the Act) sets out how the government must take action on climate change. Under the Act, Tasmania’s emissions reduction target is to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, or lower, in Tasmania from 30 June 2030. To help us achieve this goal, the Act requires the government to develop five-yearly sector-based Plans in consultation with business and industry. The Plans will support a practical and balanced approach for our key sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to climate change.

The Plans must support greenhouse gas emissions reduction, the transition to a low emissions economy, and resilience to climate‑related risks. The legislation also requires that the objects of the Act are taken into account during the development of the Plans.

Plans must be developed for the following sectors:

• energy
• transport
• industrial processes and product use (IPPU)
• agriculture
• land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF)
• waste
• any other sector or sub-sector determined by the Minister (the government has committed to develop a Plan for government operations).

Delivery and timeframes

Under the Act, the Plan for the transport sector must be prepared by November 2023, and all other Plans by November 2024. The Minister for Environment and Climate Change is to consult with each relevant portfolio Minister, and with business and industry representatives, to develop the Plans. The Minister is also required to publicly consult on each draft Plan.

The Plans are to be tabled in Parliament and updated at least every five years. This work is being led by the Climate Change Office in Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania (ReCFIT).

Why sector-based emissions reduction and resilience planning?

The latest data (see note 1) show that Tasmania recorded net zero greenhouse gas emissions for the first time in 2013 and has maintained its net zero status in the nine reported years since. Our emissions profile is largely due to the carbon sink in our managed forest estate and our longstanding investment in renewable electricity generation.

However, our emissions profile is not guaranteed into the future. Emissions are influenced by a range of factors such as population growth, major bushfire events, changes in consumer demand, market forces and technological advancements. We know we must do more to maintain our net zero status by reducing emissions in all our sectors, while also increasing the carbon stored in our forests (see note 2).

The AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (see note 3) confirms that humans are causing global warming and makes it clear that we need to act now. Global temperatures are now 1.1˚C above pre-industrial levels and are likely to reach 1.5˚C above pre‑industrial levels in the early 2030s. In Tasmania, the impacts of climate change will have environmental, economic and social impacts on our businesses, industries, communities and our natural values. It is important that we adapt effectively to a changing climate and build strong, resilient communities, while continuing to reduce our emissions.

A consistent theme from consultation on the government’s action on climate change is that a partnership approach between government and industry is the preferred approach to support emissions reduction and build resilience in Tasmanian businesses and industries.

Purpose of this State of Play Report

This State of Play Report (Report) has been developed to support the requirement to prepare a Plan for the waste sector and to guide consultation. This Report provides a high-level summary of Tasmania’s waste sector, its emissions and the impacts of climate change on the sector. It also outlines emissions reduction and resilience opportunities and barriers, and relevant policies and actions at the local, national and international level.

This Report will inform the identification of gaps and future opportunities for the draft Plan, which will be released for public consultation in late 2023.

Notes:

1. Tasmania's  latest reported greenhouse gas emissions were released in April 2023 as part of the Australian Government’s National Greenhouse Accounts 2021 and State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories 2021. The Australian Government reporting framework is consistent with UNFCCC and Paris Agreement reporting rules. National inventory reporting runs two years behind the current date, and represents the most recent official data in Australia on annual emissions.
2. Point Advisory and Indufor (2021) ‘2021 Update of Tasmania’s Emissions Pathway Review – technical report’ (prepared for the Tasmanian Climate Change Office) https://recfit.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/348948/Tasmanian_Emissions_Pathway_Review_-_Technical_Report.pdf
3. IPCC (2023) ‘Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report - Summary for Policymakers’ https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/

The sectors identified for the development of Plans are based on the sectors identified in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) greenhouse gas reporting framework.

Under the UNFCCC reporting framework, emissions from the waste sector include emissions from:

• solid waste disposal (the decomposition of organic waste in landfills)
• incineration and open burning of waste
• biological treatment (composting and anaerobic digestion) of solid waste
• treatment and discharge of wastewater.

Tasmania has no reported emissions from waste incineration, and emissions from the biological treatment of solid waste are minimal. The Plan for the waste sector will focus on how we can reduce emissions from the disposal of organic waste and wastewater treatment in Tasmania.

The Plan will also consider how we can build resilience to the impacts of climate change on our waste management systems, and how the sector can be supported in the transition to net zero; for example, to implement resource recovery pathways for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure, such as wind turbine blades.

Out of scope activities and emissions

Due to the nature of the waste sector and the UNFCCC reporting framework, there is significant overlap between waste and other sectors. For example:

• emissions from the application of agricultural waste to agricultural land (landspreading), field burning of agricultural residues and manure management, are accounted for in the agriculture sector
• emissions from the management of forests and conversion of forest to other land uses, including from the burning and decay of cleared vegetation, are accounted for in the LULUCF sector
• the emissions reduction from use of bioenergy made using organic waste are accounted for in the energy sector
• emissions associated with the energy used to collect and treat waste are reported in the energy sector and transport sub-sector.

The waste-related emissions accounted for in other sectors will be managed as part of the relevant Plans. However, there may also be relevant opportunities in the Plan for the waste sector.

The future opportunities identified in the Plans for each sector will be combined and inform the development of Tasmania’s next climate change action plan, to be released in 2025, including the identification of priorities and gaps not addressed through the development of the sector-based Plans.

Waste and resource recovery

We acknowledge that there are many other important considerations for the way we deal with waste and resource recovery more broadly, and that there is a significant amount of work underway by governments, industry, business and the community to reduce waste generation, improve resource recovery and move to a circular economy. A current initiative is the development of a Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy for Tasmania by the Waste and Resource Recovery Board.

Although not directly accounted for in the waste sector under the UNFCCC reporting framework, these initiatives can impact our emissions along the supply chain. For example, a 2023 report commissioned by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and WWF Australia estimated that plastic consumption accounted for more than 16 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia in 2020 (see note 1). This figure includes emissions throughout the lifecycle of plastic, including its manufacture and transport through to recycling or incineration.

Notes:

1. Blue Environment (2023) ‘Carbon emissions assessment of Australian plastics consumption – Project report’ prepared for the Australian Marine Conservation Society and WWF Australia, https://www.marineconservation.org.au/plasticemissions/

The waste sector is essential to the Tasmanian community, managing the state’s household, commercial and industrial waste and recycling, and the treatment of wastewater.

The sector is undergoing significant change, driven by developments in Australia and overseas, and shifts in community expectations around waste management and concerns about the greenhouse gas emissions from waste. While waste management traditionally deals with the disposal stage in the lifecycle of products, there is now a push to move to a circular economy which aims to maximise the value, and use of materials and resources, at every stage in the lifecycle of a product or material.

Roles and responsibilities

The Tasmanian Government manages waste and resource recovery in partnership with local government, business and industry, the community and the Australian Government.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Tasmania’s waste sector accounted for approximately 5 per cent (381 kilotonnes (kt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-e)) of Tasmania’s emissions in 2021, excluding the LULUCF sector (see note 1).

Emissions from the waste sector have decreased by 33 per cent since 1990. This has largely been driven by increased landfill diversion rates and gas capture at wastewater treatment sites and landfills. These changes offset the emissions associated with increased waste generation due to population and economic growth.

Figure 1: Tasmanian waste sector emissions - 1990 to 2021

Source: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) 2023, State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories 2021

Sources of greenhouse gas emissions for the waste sector

Solid waste disposal

When organic waste decomposes in landfills, this process (called anaerobic decomposition) creates biogas, a gas comprising approximately half methane and half carbon dioxide. The methane emissions are attributed to the waste sector, however the carbon dioxide emissions are not reported as they are considered to be part of the natural carbon cycle (see note 2). There are eight landfill methane capture projects for either flaring (burning) or electricity generation in Tasmania, registered under the Australian Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund.

Biological treatment of solid waste

Rather than decomposing in landfill, solid organic waste can instead be composted (a form of aerobic decomposition that does not release methane) or undergo anaerobic digestion in an enclosed biogas facility. These are categorised as the biological treatment of solid waste.

While anaerobic digestion generates biogas, it is often recovered and combusted to create energy, and can substitute for more emissions-intensive sources of generation reported in the energy sector. This process also creates digestate, which has many uses, including as fertiliser and for manufacturing bio‑based products such as bioplastics. There are currently no enclosed solid waste biogas facilities in Tasmania.

Wastewater treatment and discharge

There are many treatment options for wastewater. Like solid organic waste, the anaerobic treatment of wastewater generates methane which can be captured and used for energy. Aerobic wastewater treatment generates nitrous oxide, another strong greenhouse gas.

Due to these processes, the majority of emissions from the waste sector are methane. Methane traps significantly more heat (at least 28 times - see note 3) per tonne than carbon dioxide. Emissions for all greenhouse gases are reported as carbon dioxide equivalents, based on the warming caused by the gas over 100 years (this is the ‘global warming potential’ or GWP of each gas).

Figure 2: Tasmania's waste emissions by sub-sector - 1990 to 2021

Source: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) 2023, State and Territory Greenhouse Gas Inventories 2021

Factors influencing Tasmania’s waste emissions

Emissions from the waste sector depend on a range of factors, including the amount and type of organic waste generated and sent to landfill, wastewater generation and treatment processes, and gas capture at landfills and wastewater treatment plants.

Organic waste generation

The more organic waste that is generated, the more it is likely to end up in landfill and contribute to the sector’s emissions. Generation of solid organic waste and wastewater is historically broadly linked to population and economic growth. In 2020, Tasmania generated 812 kt of solid organic waste (see note 4).

Landfill rates

Approximately 21 per cent of Tasmania’s solid organic waste is sent to landfill each year (see note 5). The material decomposes in landfill over several years, meaning emissions from solid waste disposal reflect waste disposal levels and composition over several decades. The emissions depend on the type of organic waste. For example, when sent to landfill, each tonne of food waste generates methane equivalent to over two tonnes of CO₂-e (see note 6). Paper and cardboard emit over 3.3 tonnes of CO₂-e per tonne.

Figure 3: Tasmania's organic solid waste generation and landfilling by sector - 2020

Source: RMCG Consortium 2022, Tasmanian Organics Research Report: Final, prepared for NRE Tas

As shown above, the landfilling rates of organic waste vary significantly between sectors. For example:

• the construction and demolition industry produces very little organic waste
• the commercial sector (which includes food retailing, accommodation, hospitality, schools and other businesses) landfills the majority of its organic waste
• the manufacturing sector (which includes food, beverage, wood, textiles and paper) sends the majority of its waste to landfill and also redirects a proportion of its organic waste as animal feed, or manages the waste on-site (landspread, stockpiled or burned)
• primary industries (including agriculture, aquaculture and forestry) send a very low proportion of waste to landfill. Organic waste from these industries is sent to composting or mulching facilities or is managed on-site.

It is important to note that while the emissions from on-site waste management are not accounted for in the waste sector under the UNFCCC reporting framework, these practices materially contribute to Tasmania’s emissions in the agriculture and LULUCF sectors. This will be considered as part of the development of the Plans for these sectors.

In 2020, Tasmanians disposed of approximately 128 kg per person of organic waste through kerbside collection services. Almost half of this waste was food waste.

Wastewater

All urban areas and most major townships in Tasmania are connected to sewerage infrastructure. Wastewater is removed directly from households and treated by TasWater. Emissions vary depending on the treatment process used and are challenging to accurately quantify. Some treatment plants capture the gas and either flare it or generate bioenergy. The biosolids generated from the treatment process are nutrient dense and largely used by the agriculture sector as fertiliser or soil conditioner.

Some regions in Tasmania are reliant on domestic, on-site septic systems. Conventional septic systems use anaerobic digestion and produce large amounts of methane. However, they are generally cheaper to install and require less maintenance than aerated wastewater treatment systems (AWTS) and are therefore more common. AWTS produce less emissions and have better environmental outcomes.

Gas capture and bioenergy generation

Many landfill and wastewater treatment facilities have gas capture collection systems in place. These systems combust or flare the gases, converting the methane to less potent carbon dioxide.

Several facilities convert the methane gas into energy to power their operations, including the Launceston Waste Centre, McRobies Gully Waste Management Centre in South Hobart and the Jackson Street Waste Management Centre in Glenorchy. This not only reduces emissions from the waste sector, but also the transport and energy sectors when the biogas is used in place of fossil fuels.

Impacts of climate change on the waste sector in Tasmania

Under a changing climate, we are expected to experience increased storm events and changes in rainfall patterns, which are likely to result in increased flooding, coastal inundation and erosion. We are also expected to experience increased temperatures, more hot days and heatwaves, and longer fire seasons in Tasmania, with more frequent and intense bushfire events. We are expected to experience marine heatwaves, rising sea levels and increased windspeed. Extreme weather events are projected to increase in frequency and intensity over time. These events will have environmental, economic and social impacts on Tasmania’s businesses, industries, communities and our natural and cultural values.

The projected changes to the Tasmanian climate will increase physical risks for waste management facilities; for example, events such as fires and floods. Some coastal landfill sites and wastewater treatment plants will also be impacted by coastal erosion. TasWater is also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on water resources. These impacts and events can create significant costs for operators and create risks for public health and the environment, for example through the release of leachate (a liquid that forms when waste decomposes, containing toxic chemicals and materials).

Increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events will also result in damage to infrastructure and property requiring management by the waste sector.

Risks for the sector in the transition to a low emissions economy

In addition to the physical impacts on Tasmania’s waste sector, there are risks associated with the transition to a low emissions economy, such as the increased cost of compliance with changing regulations. The shift towards renewable energy will also eventually result in obsolete emissions‑intensive technologies that will require disposal. Increased renewable energy will require development and expansion of resource recovery pathways for renewable technologies such as solar panels, lithium‑ion batteries used in electric vehicles, and wind turbine blades

1. Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) (2023) ‘State and Territory emissions’ https://www.greenhouseaccounts.climatechange.gov.au/
2. DCCEEW (2023) ‘Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors: For individuals and organisations estimating greenhouse gas emissions’ https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-2022.pdf
3. Australian Government Clean Energy Regulator (2022) National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting: Global warming potentials, https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/NGER/About-the-National-Greenhouse-and-Energy-Reporting-scheme/global-warming-potentials
4. RMCG Consortium (2022) ‘Tasmanian Organics Research Report: Final’ prepared for NRE Tas https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Tasmanian%20Organics%20Research%20Report%202022.PDF
5. RMCG Consortium (2022) ‘Tasmanian Organics Research Report: Final’ prepared for NRE Tas https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Tasmanian%20Organics%20Research%20Report%202022.PDF
6. DCCEEW (2023) ‘Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors: For individuals and organisations estimating greenhouse gas emissions’ https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-2022.pdf
7. Perez, t, Vergara, S E and Silver, W L (2023) ‘Assessing the climate change mitigation potential from food waste composting’, Scientific Reports, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-34174-z

Emissions reduction opportunities

In line with the waste hierarchy, the most effective opportunity for reducing the amount of organic waste sent to landfill and the associated emissions is avoiding the generation of this waste. However, there are other important opportunities to improve the way we manage the waste that cannot be avoided.

The Tasmanian Emissions Pathway Review estimated that reducing the volume of organic waste sent to landfill, together with the deployment of additional landfill gas capture technology, could reduce Tasmania’s emissions by 0.60 Mt CO₂‑e per year by 2050, a reduction of around 16 per cent of total current waste sector emissions.

The largest opportunities for diverting organic waste from landfill are in the manufacturing and commercial sectors and kerbside waste collection, as these sectors currently have high landfilling rates.

The landfill waste levy introduced in 2022 will provide funds to support a long-term, strategic approach to waste management and resource recovery in Tasmania. Funds will be invested in resource recovery and education and awareness programs.

The 2022 Tasmanian Organics Research Report recommended focus areas and initiatives for reducing and managing organic waste in Tasmania. Key themes are outlined below.

Education and behaviour change

Education and awareness campaigns targeting households, business and industry can play an important role in both reducing waste and improving the reuse, recycling and recovery of the waste that is generated.

Topics may include reducing household food waste through different shopping, food preparation and storage methods, encouraging at-home or on-site composting, and education about what kinds of waste can be composted. It may also include programs to encourage business and industry to adopt alternative resource recovery pathways for organic waste such as partnering with food banks or businesses who generate bioenergy or biochar from organic waste.

Partnerships and collaboration

There are many groups and organisations involved in the generation and management of waste in Tasmania. The products that can be produced from organic waste, such as compost, biochar and bioenergy, also mean that there are many opportunities for collaboration between the generators of waste and other businesses and not-for-profits who can utilise these products.

As the WRR Board’s Draft Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy notes, greater coordination will help capture the opportunities and value in the resources we have previously thrown away. Promoting strong partnerships to address priority issues is a key objective of the draft Strategy.

Investment in technology and infrastructure

It is important that Tasmania has the capacity to process the organic waste that is collected through kerbside collection services and directly disposed of at waste management facilities by the public. The Tasmanian Government has recently invested $6 million to increase organics reprocessing and composting capacity at waste facilities in the north and south of Tasmania.

Other opportunities include increasing gas capture technologies at landfills and wastewater treatment plants and supporting development technologies and infrastructure for the generation and use of biogas, biochar and other organic waste products.

Policy and regulation

The introduction of a landfill waste levy is a key regulatory mechanism for diverting waste from landfill and stimulating investment in waste processing infrastructure. Other regulatory mechanisms being implemented or explored in other Australian jurisdictions and around the world include:

• introducing fines for organisations that send food waste to landfill
• incentivising the diversion of waste from landfill through tax rebates
• mandating landfill and wastewater gas capture
• requiring AWTS in new homes rather than conventional septic systems.

However, it is important that any unintended consequences of these measures are managed (for example, increased costs of landfilling may lead to increased illegal dumping of waste in the absence of measures to prevent this).

Co-benefits of reducing organic waste

Disposal of organic waste in landfill not only results in the generation of methane, but also in the landfilling of valuable resources that could be repurposed as other products, and cost households thousands of dollars each year. Co-benefits of reducing, recycling and recovering organic waste include:

• improving productivity and profitability in sectors such as horticulture, food manufacturing, retail and hospitality due to improved resource efficiency and lower waste disposal costs
• supporting new industries for alternative uses of organic waste
• saving Tasmanian households up to $2,500 a year (see note 1) by helping them to reduce the amount of food wasted at home
• reducing emissions from other sectors such as transport and energy through the use of bioenergy made from organic waste
• reducing air and pollution from landfills, benefiting public health and the environment
• improving soil health and increasing agricultural productivity through the use of compost
• increasing Tasmania’s food security due to the redistribution of edible food.

Resilience opportunities

The opportunities to increase the resilience of waste and wastewater management facilities to the impacts of climate change will depend on the risks for each facility. Most options are extremely costly and include installation of infrastructure to protect sites from fire or flood, removing toxic materials from at-risk sites to prevent them from entering the environment in the case of extreme weather events or coastal erosion, and relocation of at-risk facilities.

Tasmania’s first statewide climate change risk assessment is currently being developed, and a project is underway to update the fine-scale climate projections for Tasmania. These projects will improve our understanding of the risks to waste and wastewater management sites to assist in identifying priority sites and adaptation measures.

The global transition to net zero emissions also presents opportunities for Tasmania’s waste sector. This includes the potential to generate income through the sale of carbon credits from projects that reduce emissions and/or generate bioenergy, and through the sale of products such as compost and bioenergy. Use of bioenergy on-site can also reduce costs for landfill operators.

Challenges and barriers

Tasmania historically has a lack of clear and comprehensive statewide information on product supply chains, recyclable materials, and waste flows, which has limited the ability to identify priorities and strategic investment opportunities in the waste and resource recovery sectors. Work is underway to address these issues. For example, the Waste and Resource Recovery Act 2022 and associated Regulations establish reporting requirements for operators of landfills and resource recovery facilities. A key action in the draft Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy is to establish and maintain efficient data collection and public reporting systems. The Tasmanian Government’s Waste Data Readiness Grant Program supports landfill operators to modify their business systems and infrastructure to comply with the new legislative requirements.

There have also been concerns that inadequate resource recovery infrastructure in the state may limit the capacity of members of the community and industry to repair and reuse products and recycle materials. The Tasmanian Government has announced significant investment in resource recovery infrastructure in recent years, including to increase Tasmania’s organic waste reprocessing and composting capacity.

Tasmania’s smaller economies of scale and relative isolation compared to other Australian jurisdictions also create challenges, and it is important that initiatives are managed in a way that maintain the viability of commercial operations and support the adoption of national measures such as product stewardship programs.

For business and industry, the emissions from organic waste that is disposed to landfill or wastewater sent to TasWater for treatment are classed as scope 3 emissions, meaning they are not directly attributed to the businesses that produce them. They are instead attributed as scope 1 emissions to the relevant waste management facility. Regulatory and financial mechanisms, such as the introduction of the landfill waste levy, can incentivise business and industry to divert waste from landfill.

In some local government areas, kerbside FOGO collection is not currently economically feasible. However, other options to reduce waste include supporting residents to compost organic waste, use as mulch or feed to animals such as chickens. This could be complemented with commercial FOGO collection and public FOGO bins.

Notes:

1. Food and Agribusiness Growth Centre (2021) ‘The National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study – Final Report’ https://www.fial.com.au/sharing-knowledge/food-waste