GHD explores solutions to Sydney's waste crisis

Imagine if your red bin stopped getting picked up and your recycling bin was full. Australians generate approximately 2.95 tonnes of waste per person annually. With recycling rates stagnating at around 65 percent since 2015-16, New South Wales is still heavily reliant on landfill.  

But the landfill option might not be there when we need it, if we don’t take immediate action. 

Sydney is on track to run out of landfill space by 2030. That’s just five years away. But when the current landfills are full, where will our waste go? 

GHD waste and sustainability specialists explored alternative options as part of a panel discussion during Climate Action Week Sydney, a series of events focusing on climate discussions, initiatives, and impact-oriented action.

“Landfills are needed for the residual waste we can't reuse, recover or recycle or process into energy,” said Anthony Dixon, Technical Director at GHD. “Landfills are also needed when disasters strike, when we need to quickly and safely manage large quantities of waste.” 

According to Anthony, modern engineered landfills have minimal environmental impacts, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions. They are also able to sequester fossil fuel-based carbon materials and enable some materials to be extracted or “mined” in the future. 

The NSW Government has recognised landfills as critical infrastructure and is expected to soon release its Waste Infrastructure Plan, with the first chapter dedicated to waste disposal. 

“Since two major landfills in the Sydney basin are expected to be full by 2030, we still need a long-term waste disposal solution,” Anthony added.

One alternative to landfilling waste is diverting it to Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities, which would turn waste into useable forms of energy such as electricity or heat. 

“EfW plants have a number of advantages over landfills. They have minimal impacts compared with landfills (no gas or leachate) and they do not result in large areas of land being made unsuitable for future uses such as industrial or housing.  EfW can reduce the volume of landfilled waste by at least 90 percent, if the bottom ash can be recycled for road and other construction works.  Metals can also be recovered from the bottom ash and recycled,” said David Gamble, GHD’s Senior Technical Director – Waste Infrastructure. 

“EfW plants are not odorous and have consistently met EU’s very strict air quality emissions limits. In some European cities such as Amsterdam and Vienna, they are even located relatively close to residential areas. They can be architecturally designed to fit into the surrounding environment. They produce baseload power 24 hours per day as well as heat for industrial use – supporting new industries. The technology is proven and there are thousands of plants around the world.” 

David noted that in NSW only residual wastes that remain post-recycling would be able to be used for energy generation. Thus, EfW plants would not affect other recycling efforts such as food and garden organics (FOGO) or kerbside recycling. Councils with three bin systems would be able to send all of their waste to an EfW plant directly instead of to landfill.  

The NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041, released in 2021, identified the need for one EfW plant to service Greater Sydney by 2030 and a further two by 2040.  However, despite the many benefits of the technology and support from government, only one project is currently progressing through the approvals system in NSW. By contrast, Western Australia already has an operational EfW plant in Kwinana and another one nearing completion at East Rockingham. 

“The main barriers to establishing an EfW plant in NSW seem to be related to availability of suitable sites,” David added. “Four precincts were identified but only two are currently capable of being utilised. The planning and approvals processes can also take a long time and with uncertain outcomes. However an Options Paper on EfW published by NSW EPA in February 2025 identified two new precincts, which may increase the likelihood of EfW plants being established.”

“The circular economy aims to eliminate the concept of waste altogether by redesigning products, services and the way businesses operate. In a circular economy, products and materials circulate for as long as possible. By minimising waste, maximising reuse and recycling, and creating regenerative systems, we can build a more sustainable and resilient economic system,” said Rasika Mohan, Circular Economy Specialist at GHD. “Achieving this will require step changes like redesigning products to be durable, repairable, and recyclable, shifting to circular business models, and optimisng resource management.” 

“New South Wales has made some progress towards a circular economy, through kerbside and commercial recycling, and the recent food and garden organics (FOGO) mandate is expected to provide the impetus to recover and beneficially use organic materials. Governments can encourage the shift towards a more circular economy by mandating recycled content to create markets for recovered materials,” said Sofie Mason-Jones, Senior Technical Director at GHD. 

Whilst the primary focus of the discussion was on “red bin” or municipal waste, commercial and industrial waste contributes significantly to landfill volumes. GHD’s recent work with the Green Building Council of Australia to develop a guide for circular procurement, is one step towards greater resource recovery and circular economy. Produced in consultation with funding partners, the New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australian governments, as well as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), the guide offers a clear roadmap for reducing waste and improving resource efficiency throughout a building’s lifecycle. 

Another example of circular economy principles in action is GHD’s work with the Hunter Joint Organisation to develop circular economy precincts in the Hunter Valley. These precincts aspire to bring together businesses to collaborate, reuse resources and minimise waste. 

“Transformational actions are also necessary, such as enacting supportive policies, leveraging technological innovations, and fostering cross-sector collaboration,” Rasika concluded. “Recognising that we cannot achieve everything on day one, the transition will be gradual, requiring sustained effort, commitment, and collaboration over time.”

The waste management crisis facing Sydney shows we need to take action now. It will take years to develop the energy from waste plants that will divert waste from landfills. Circular economy initiatives aim to prevent waste, and recover and reuse more materials. In the meantime, landfills remain essential, at least until we can achieve a fully circular economy. 

At the same time, everyone can contribute to the circular economy by making more sustainable choices as consumers, purchasing only what they need, reducing waste and recycling more effectively.