Carbon Farming Initiative - Second in Australia and first in NSW

 

The installation and operation of Byron Shire Council’s landfill gas extraction and flaring system at the Myocum Landfill has been officially recognised as a ‘Registered Offsets Project’ under the federal government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI).

Council’s environmental programs officer, Lloyd Isaacson, said it’s a significant achievement.

“We are the second council in Australia to have a gas extraction and flaring project approved under the CFI scheme, and the first to have an existing system approved that has not been associated with a previous greenhouse gas emissions scheme.

“Having project recognition enabled Council to claim for Australian Carbon Credit Units for CO₂ emissions decrease.  The approval process required a carbon offsets report to be submitted to the Clean Energy Regulator to support the application for the carbon credits.

“Council was recently advised that the application was successful and has consequently been allocated carbon credits for the period June 2011 to April 2013,” Mr Isaacson.

Council now has the opportunity to either trade or hold onto the carbon credits, and a report will be submitted to the 10 October 2013 meeting for it to consider the opportunities and benefits of these options.

“The current market price for the carbon credits would see Council yield an amount in the order of $150,000 should it elect to trade them,” he said.

The Myocum gas management system extracts landfill gas via a network of sumps and pipelines across the site.  The captured gas is then flared and converts the methane to carbon dioxide, which is 21 to 24 times less damaging to the environment.

Landfill gas is produced when organic waste, such as food scraps and garden waste, breaks down.

The gas consists of methane, carbon dioxide and a range of other compounds including some odorous gases like hydrogen sulphide, otherwise known as rotten egg gas.

Mayor Simon Richardson said what started out as an odour control solution has been a significant environmental and economic win.

‘We’ve reduced the odour emissions at the Landfill, reduced the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere and Council is now in a position to determine how best it wishes to deal with its carbon credits asset.

'Through its continuing commitment to innovation and sustainability, Byron Shire and its residents will at the forefront along the path to a low carbon future,” he said.

Council is also in the process of evaluating tenders for the project that will formalise the long-term management of the landfill gas flare and also enable the expansion of the current collection system.

This will result in an ability to capture and destroy more gas from the Myocum landfill and further aid in reduced odour and GHG emissions from the site.

For more information http://www.byron.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/2013/09/04/carbon-farming-initiative-second-in-australia-and-first-in-nsw