Sphere Quarterly Newsletter

Quarter 1 2022 Highlights | April 2022

Resource recovery snapshot

REMONDIS withdraws Swanbank WtE project: REMONDIS Australia announced in Mar-22 it had withdrawn its Coordinated Project, the Swanbank Waste to Energy facility, from Queensland’s coordinated project assessment process.

Brightmark announces advanced plastics facility: plastics recycling company, Brightmark, announced in Mar-22 its plans to construct an advanced plastics renewal facility at the Parkes Special Activation Precinct. The proposed plastics recycling facility would be capable of processing up to 200,000 tpa of waste plastic, with construction scheduled to commence in 2023 and will be operational by 2025.

Parkes Special Activations Precinct MRF and EfW project: preparations continue for the next phase of the Parkes Special Activation Precinct Materials Recovery Facility and Energy from Waste Facility project. Regional Growth NSW Development Corporation, responsible for delivering the Special Activation Precincts across regional NSW, have appointed EY as the Transaction Manager, in preparation for the Invitation for Proposals phase of the Structured Market Engagement Process involving shortlisted consortia.

Qenos and Cleanaway advanced plastic recycling feasibility study: Qenos and Cleanaway announced the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding in Feb-22 to undertake a joint feasibility study for plastic-to-plastic advanced recycling across NSW and VIC. The study will assess the economic and environmental viability of processing 100,000 tpa of soft and mixed plastic, into feedstock for use in Qenos’ existing manufacturing facilities to produce circular polyethylene.

Igneo acquires Waste Management NZ Limited: Igneo Infrastructure Partners successfully acquired 100% interest in Waste Management NZ Limited from Beijing Capital Group. The sale process commenced in late 2021, with Igneo publicly announcing the successful acquisition in early Apr-22.

ACCC draft determination on Tasmanian council’s joint FOGO procurement: the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued in Mar-22 a draft determination to authorise the City of Hobart Council, Glenorchy City Council and Kingborough City Council to collectively procure food and garden organics waste processing services. Interim authorisation was also provided to enable the participating councils to conduct the tender process.

FOGO facility endorsed by the ACT Government: the ACT Government announced in Mar-22 the proposed investment of a new food and garden organics waste processing facility. The project feasibility study was recently endorsed, with an in-vessel composting facility capable of processing up to 70,000 tpa the recommended infrastructure solution. The ACT Government is expecting to proceed to market for the project procurement later in 2022.

Budget 2022-23 waste announcements: the Commonwealth Government announced $83.1M over 5 years from 2022-23 to support Australia’s transition towards a circular economy. Key funding announcements included: 

  • $60.4M over 4 years from FY23 to boost Australia’s plastics recycling capabilities through state-of-the-art technologies and advanced recycling solutions for problematic plastics under the Recycling Modernisation Fund 

  • $18.2M over 5 years from FY22 to develop and promote a ‘ReMade in Australia’ brand and certification scheme that supports Australians to buy quality, locally-recycled products 

  • $4.4M over 2 years from FY23 to support the delivery of the Government’s waste export ban by reducing licence assessment timeframes and helping industry to meet regulatory requirements.

Water snapshot

Mixed rainfall patterns across the nation: Australia recorded a significant divergence in rainfall across the first quarter, demonstrated by the national rainfall averages and localised extreme weather flooding events. The national rainfall was 22% above average in January, 24% below average in February and 27% below average in March. As our climate continues to change with the overall trend towards a warmer climate, heavy rainfall events such as the extreme flooding experienced in large parts of QLD and NSW, are expected to continue and become more intense.

Sydney Water releases circular economy white paper: Sydney Water launched a new white paper in partnership with NSW Circular in Mar-22, titled “Unlocking the circular economy in the Western Parkland City”. The paper provides several recommendations for stakeholder consideration, with the objective of achieving a shared vision for a circular Western Parkland City.

Paradise Dam improvement project: the Queensland Government announced in Feb-22 that the State would commit up to $600M to return the dam to its original full supply level (300GL). The State’s Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, acknowledged the project would cost up to $1.2B, with early works commencing in 2023.

Sydney Water and Veolia announce partnership: Sydney Water and Veolia announced in Mar-22 a partnership to explore innovation opportunities to develop a circular economy and help deliver sustainable, and resilient water services. The partnership will trial both emerging and proven technologies at Sydney Water and Veolia-operated sites over the next 18 months.

New CEO commences at TasWater: TasWater announced the commencement of new Chief Executive Officer, George Theo, in Mar-22. Mr Theo joins TasWater from Unitywater in South East Queensland, where he was previously the Chief Executive Officer between May 2012 and February 2022, per his LinkedIn profile.

Fraser Coast water supply security strategy: the Fraser Coast Regional Council endorsed the ‘Fraser Coast Water Supply Security Strategy – Planning Report’, at the Mar-22 meeting, as a guiding document for future investment in the regional water network. The document was prepared by Cardno, as the Council seeks to determine a water security Level of Service that is reflective of local community expectations.

Budget 2022-23 water announcements: the Commonwealth Government announced $7.4B in additional funding for the National Water Grid Fund, with the intent of improving the nation’s water security and drought resilience. Key funding announcements included:

  • $2.6B for projects in the Northern Territory

  • $1.7B for projects in North and Central Queensland

  • $1.5B for projects in the Pilbara region in Western Australia

  • $750M for projects in the Hunter region in New South Wales.

 Sphere at a glance

Attendance at the Coffs Harbour Waste Conference: Sphere will have representatives attending the Coffs Harbour Waste Conference between 3-5 May. Keep an eye out for the following program events involving Sphere team members and don’t hesitate to approach us during the conference for a chat!

  • Kate Dryden will present on the ‘Waste infrastructure landscape - how do we remove the roadblocks and get what we need?’ during Wednesday’s Strategy and Planning (Part 2) session in the Currawon/Shearwater Room

  • Boyd Russell will participate as a panel member on the ‘AORA Workshop: FOGO BY 2030 - Challenges and pitfalls of procuring FOGO solutions’ open forum discussion during Tuesday’s pre-conference events in the Marquee.