The Victorian Government is supporting the idea of waste to energy systems as an alternative energy source by providing $300,000 in grants for small-scale on-site waste to energy systems in local government and businesses.
Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Lisa Neville, announced the funding for innovative projects that will help keep organic waste out of landfill, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and explore new ways of capturing energy from organic waste.
“This funding will support businesses that produce organic waste onsite and have identified alternative technologies as a future opportunity,” Ms Neville said.
The $300,000 will support the installation of precinct-scale anaerobic digestion technology for organics recovery and as an alternative energy source.
Anaerobic digestion is a process that breaks down organic waste, such as food and compost, to produce heat and gas which can then be used to produce energy.
The funding aims to help overcome barriers to uptake of these technologies by supporting pilot projects that demonstrate the viability of organics recovery and processing, and which can easily be replicated.
There is a significant opportunity to increase the recovery and reprocessing of food waste in the commercial and industrial sector as in 2011-12, over 280,000 tonnes of food waste was generated by the commercial and industrial sector with only 10 per cent recycled.
Waste to energy systems also presents opportunities for economic development with the potential to create jobs and drive investment in Victoria’s waste and resource recovery industry.
Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, said, “The use of recovered organic materials as a renewable energy source is an emerging opportunity that the we are committed to exploring further.”
For more information on the grants, visit www.sustainability.vic.gov.au.
