Media statement

27th  August 2025

 

Victorian Government ignites massive waste burning agenda.

This week the Victorian Government approved the incineration of 2.35 million tonnes of waste every year under their waste to energy scheme, enabled by the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021 and the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) (Waste to Energy Scheme) Regulations 2023.

The approval of cap licenses for a number of incineration projects in Victoria will see the Wollert and Sunbury projects become the largest waste to energy incinerators in Australia. The Victorian EPA has more than doubled the allowable volume for Cleanaway’s Wollert project from 380 000tpa to 760 000tpa. The HiQ project planned for Sunbury also had its permissible volumes increased from 300 000tpa to 750 00tpa.

In addition, exempted projects like the Maryvale Energy from Waste facility, have already received approval for 710 000tpa.  This makes the total volume of waste allowed to be incinerated in Victoria 2.78 million tpa of waste which exceeds their 2.5 million tpa cap claims and will deliver a climate carbon bomb  of 4.14 million tonnes of GHG every year.

This volume of waste incineration will also create 695 000tpa of highly toxic and hazardous waste ash requiring secure management and disposal. Despite Australia being a signatory to the Basel Convention on hazardous waste, Victoria appears to have no regulatory framework for the management and safe disposal of incinerator ash. It is well documented that such ash contains PFAS, dioxins and other persistent organic pollutants making it unsuitable for reuse in a Circular Economy.

While the greenwash and industry propaganda is thick in Australia, especially in Victoria, based largely on the mantra that Europe operates this industry safely and successfully, it cannot be denied that that the European Commission’s Directive to member states on the Role of Waste to Energy in the Circular Economy, recommends that … “Old incinerators should be decommissioned and no new incinerators built”. This is because the EU Commission acknowledges that waste to energy incineration undermines the Circular Economy. These facts make the decision of the Victorian Government to enshrine waste to energy incineration into their Circular Economy Act, all the more indefensible.

For more information: Jane Bremmer 0432041397