NSW EPA releases strict new Energy from Waste Technical Note

Overview

The NSW Environment Protection Authority published its new Energy from Waste Technical Note on 8 May 2024, officially replacing the previous 2021 NSW Energy from Waste Policy Statement. The Technical Note sits within the broader NSW Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan 2025 and establishes a substantially more prescriptive and demanding regulatory framework for any proponent seeking to develop energy-from-waste (EfW) infrastructure in New South Wales. Legal analysis published by Clayton Utz on 28 May 2024 confirmed that the new requirements represent some of the most stringent operational and technical parameters applied to this waste technology category anywhere globally.

The timing is directly linked to a looming landfill capacity crisis affecting Greater Sydney. With key landfills servicing the metropolitan region expected to reach capacity from 2030 or earlier, the NSW Government has moved to redirect residual waste streams towards four designated regional precincts: Parkes, Goulburn Mulwaree, West Lithgow, and Tomago. These precincts are intended to become the backbone of a long-term residual waste management solution, but the Technical Note makes clear that access to those precincts comes with substantial compliance obligations that must be addressed from the earliest stages of project planning.

For environmental consultants, waste infrastructure developers, local councils, and planning lawyers, the Technical Note is not an incremental policy update. It fundamentally recalibrates the standard of evidence, the technology performance benchmarks, and the public accountability mechanisms that EfW proponents must satisfy. Any Environmental Impact Statement or Environment Protection Licence application prepared without direct reference to these updated parameters is unlikely to withstand regulatory scrutiny or sustain the social licence required to proceed through the planning system.

Key details of the NSW EPA Energy from Waste Technical Note (May 2024)

The most technically demanding element of the new framework is the application of 100th percentile emission limits. Unlike regulatory approaches in many international jurisdictions that apply 95th or 98th percentile limits, the NSW EPA has adopted the most conservative statistical position available, requiring facilities to demonstrate that emissions remain within prescribed limits under all operating conditions without exception. This approach means that technology selection, combustion chamber design, and flue gas treatment systems must be engineered to perform at maximum compliance levels continuously, not merely as an average or near-constant condition.

For incineration-based technologies, the Technical Note mandates that combustion gases must be raised to a minimum of 850 degrees Celsius for at least two seconds after the last injection of combustion air. This requirement applies even under the most unfavourable operating conditions, removing any tolerance for temperature excursions during startup, shutdown, or process upsets. Waste feed interlocks are mandatory and must prevent waste from entering the combustion chamber whenever required temperatures are not achieved. These are not aspirational performance targets but enforceable design and operational requirements that will be assessed during Proof of Performance testing as a condition of the Environment Protection Licence.

Bottom ash quality standards are equally prescriptive. Total organic carbon in bottom ash must not exceed 3% of the dry weight of the material, and loss on ignition must not exceed 5% of the dry weight. These thresholds are indicators of combustion completeness and directly influence the classification of bottom ash as a regulated waste or a potentially recoverable material. Facilities that consistently produce bottom ash within these limits may have pathways toward beneficial reuse, but any exceedance carries waste classification and landfill disposal implications under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, specifically Parts 4 including Sections 142, 143, and 144 covering definitions, prohibitions, and exceptions respectively.

Energy recovery efficiency is also a hard regulatory requirement. Facilities must recover at least 25% of the lower heating value energy input as useful energy. This net energy efficiency threshold distinguishes genuine energy recovery from thermal treatment that merely destroys waste, and it directly affects whether a facility can be classified and consented as an EfW facility under the Technical Note. Air quality modelling for EIS purposes must be conducted in accordance with the NSW EPA’s Approved Methods for the Modelling and Assessment of Air Pollutants in NSW, and emission standards are referenced against Group 6 under the Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2022. Post-commissioning, facilities must publish validated emission monitoring data online in near real-time via a public portal and provide weekly compliance summaries, creating a level of public transparency that has no equivalent in current NSW industrial licensing practice.

Australian context: how this framework sits within national and state waste and environment regulation

Australia does not have a single national framework governing energy-from-waste facilities. Regulation occurs primarily at the state and territory level, and practice varies considerably. Victoria has maintained a formal prohibition on EfW technologies for most of the last decade, though that position has evolved. Queensland has issued guidance through the Department of Environment and Science but has not adopted technology-specific performance benchmarks comparable to those now in force in NSW. South Australia and Western Australia have both permitted EfW projects on a case-by-case basis under their respective environmental authorisation frameworks.

References and related sources

• Primary source: www.claytonutz.com
• nsw.gov.au
• nswnationals.org.au
• nsw.gov.au
• nsw.gov.au
• NSW EPA

How iEnvi can help

iEnvi provides specialist consulting services relevant to this topic. Our team includes CEnvP Site Contamination Specialists with experience across contaminated land, groundwater, remediation, ecology, and regulatory compliance.

• iEnvi contaminated land investigation services
• iEnvi remediation and validation services
• iEnvi expert services and independent review services

This is an iEnvi Machete news summary. Prepared by iEnvi to summarise the source article for contaminated land, groundwater, remediation, approvals and site risk professionals.

Published: 29 May 2026

Need advice on this topic? Speak to an iEnvi expert at info@ienvi.com.au or 1300 043 684, or contact us online.