Kandos Waste Plant Plan Sparks Government Dispute

A showdown is brewing between the New South Wales government and the proponents of a $1 billion waste processing plant near Mudgee. Cenagen is proposing to develop the facility at the former Kandos Cement Works, the site that supplied cement to help construct the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Proposal Details

If approved, it would process 450,000 tonnes of rubbish per year bound for landfill using gasification technology. However, the state government has pushed back on the proposal with Environment Minister Penny Sharpe claiming it falls under the energy-from-waste framework and is prohibited from being built in the town.

“We are not energy-from-waste, we respectfully disagree,” chief executive Jason O’Sullivan said. “There will be some stage where the difference of opinion will have to be resolved. ”If and when that arises we are comfortable in our position.”

Technology and Environmental Concerns

The technology proposed by Cenagen exposes waste to temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius in a low-oxygen environment to produce a synthesis gas that contains hydrogen, carbon monoxide and dioxide within a sealed system. Those chemicals are then used to manufacture 91,000 tonnes of methanol annually, which will be used as a lower-emission alternative to fossil-based fuels used in transportation, according to Cenagen.

The project would be the first of its kind in the world. The NSW energy-from-waste framework prohibits thermal rubbish treatment that involves energy recovery unless it takes place within one of the four designated precincts across the state, being Parkes, West Lithgow, Tarago and Tomago.

In a letter to MLC Stephen Lawrence, Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said based on the available information, she believed the project could not go ahead in Kandos. “It is unlikely that the activities Cenagen proposes to undertake would be permitted under the Framework,” she said. “There is no alternative approval pathway to such activities.”

A spokesperson for the EPA said the thermal treatment of waste that involves energy recovery is limited to the four precincts. “Kandos is not within an approved precinct under the framework,” the spokesperson said.

Economic and Community Impact

Mr O’Sullivan said the technology did not rely on combustion like energy-from-waste incinerators. “It’s going to come down to a statutory interpretation,” he said. “We firmly believe that we don’t need any changes to the precincts and that we’re exempt from the prohibition.”

If the project is approved, 1,000 tonnes of waste will be transported to the site daily via rail, the majority from Sydney and other regional centres. The project would create up to 350 full-time jobs.

However, some locals are concerned about the impact on the region’s tourism industry. Will De Beaurepaire runs a 55-hectare winery at the nearby town of Rylstone, about 5 kilometres from the proposed site. “There would be some concerns about emissions, the project themselves says minimal emissions, that’s not no emissions,” he said. “We’ve currently got jobs in the area … these are not dying towns … there is an enormous risk.”

Kandos resident Marella Harris has a property about a kilometre from the former cement works. “It will destroy the tourism in the area, people won’t want to come,” she said. “They’ll classify it as a dump town and that’s not what we are.”

Legacy of Kandos Cement Works

The former Kandos Cement Works has a critical place in Sydney’s history; it supplied the cement that was used to build the harbour bridge’s pylons between 1928 and 1932. After operating for 95 years, the facility closed in 2011.

Local historian Buzz Sanderson believes the project could fill the hole in the community that was created when 64 people lost their jobs when the cement works closed. “Kandos has a huge legacy in building Sydney and the rest of the state,” he said. “It can do that into the future if this project goes ahead, it is a game changer for how we do our refuse.”