Solid Waste Management
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Methane co-generation facility
at the Stotts Landfill
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Until recent times, landfill gas (i.e. methane) has been responsible for approximately 21% of Council’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Efforts to reduce impacts include the following.
Methane Harvesting
Food scraps and garden waste rot in landfills to produce methane, a greenhouse gas twenty-two times more harmful than carbon dioxide (i.e. one tonne of methane emissions equals 22 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions).
In February 2005 Tweed Shire Council and Landfill Management Systems completed the last stage of a methane co-generation facility at the Stotts Creek Landfill. Methane is harvested from rubbish in the landfill and burnt to produce electricity. 300 kilowatts is supplied into the national electricity grid every hour, which is enough to power about 400 homes.
Harvesting methane from the Stotts Landfill prevents an average of 10,000 tonnes of CO2(equivalent) from entering the atmosphere each year. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of 2,000 cars.
Kerbside Green-waste Collection
In 2005 Council established a domestic green waste collection service in response to the issue of green waste being disposed of via the kerbside waste collection service. Green waste bins are collected fortnightly and the contents is mulched and made available for use by the community.
Green-waste Diversion
Any green-waste brought to local waste management facilities is diverted from the landfill, mulched and made available for use by the community.
Compost Bins and Worm Farms
Council encourages household composting and worm farming as a way of reducing putrescibles ending up in landfill. Discounted compost bins and worm farms are available from Council offices and are often supplied to schools for waste education and gardening initiatives.
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