Waste-to-Energy: Cutting Through the Noise and Getting Practical
Australia is at a crossroads. Landfills are reaching their limits. Residual waste keeps growing. As a result, industry, government and communities want solutions that are cleaner, safer and circular.
At ReGen Expo’s Waste to Energy session, a panel of leaders from SLR Consulting, Kwinana Energy Recovery, Ramboll and Monash Business School discussed the misconceptions and next steps. Waste-to-Energy (WTE) isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s a proven, practical tool Australia needs for a sustainable future.
Featured Speaker
Roelof Vogel
Featured Speaker
Frank Klostermann
Featured Speaker
Scott Reynolds
Featured Speaker
Marc Revault
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Start with the problem, not the ideology
For decades, critics have framed Waste to Energy as “just another landfill” or a technology that destroys resources. Those claims fall apart when you look at how the system works.
Modern facilities are built to manage residual waste, FOGO diversion and upstream design improvements. They don’t want recyclables, and they don’t need them. Australia’s regulatory frameworks already require source separation and favour recycling first. Waste to Energy sits where it belongs in the hierarchy – above landfill but below recovery and reuse.
Globally, this isn’t new as countries like Germany, Sweden and Japan have operated WTE plants safely for decades. In many cities, people barely think twice about it.
Australia isn’t reinventing the wheel. We’re applying engineering, emissions standards and operating models to our own waste challenge.
Kwinana proves the technology works
For many attendees, the highlight was the practical walkthrough of WA’s Kwinana Waste to Energy facility. After years of debate, construction challenges and COVID delays, Kwinana is now delivering exactly what it promised.
You see it in the numbers from the first half of 2025:
- 125,000+ tonnes of residual waste diverted from landfill.
- 24/7 continuous emissions monitoring against European standard limits.
- 3000 tonnes of ferrous metals and 500 tonnes of non-ferrous recovered.
- 20,000 tonnes of processed bottom ash aggregate (IBAA) used in construction, including the plant’s own car park.
- Reliable baseload renewable energy feeding the grid, creating large-scale generation certificates (LGCs).
This is circularity in practice, not theory or a promise. An operating system that links households, councils, regulators, engineers and energy operators.
Addressing the hard questions of Waste-to-Energy
The panel didn’t shy away from the big misconceptions. Instead, they tackled them directly.
Does WTE “feed the beast” and incentivise more waste?
Not in Australia. Our waste volumes are rising, our landfills are shrinking and genuine behavioural change sits decades ahead. WTE doesn’t compete with recycling, it depends on strong recycling to exist.
The real risk isn’t overbuilding WTE, it’s doing nothing and locking ourselves further into landfill.
Is it compatible with a circular economy?
Yes, when it sits at the right point in the system. WTE recovers energy and minerals from material that can’t be reused, repaired, or recycled. It also helps avoid methane emissions from landfill. This is a climate priority often underestimated in 100 year lifecycle models.
What about overcapacity, like parts of Europe?
That’s a governance issue, not a technology issue. Australia is nowhere near that point. States like WA currently have around half the needed capacity to manage today’s residual volumes, let alone future growth. Other states have none.
The message was clear – build modestly, build sensibly, and scale based on real waste flows, not fear.
The path forward with Waste-to-Energy
Across the discussion, one theme dominated – Waste-to-Energy only succeeds when everyone plays their part.
Local governments commit long term supply agreements. Regulators set clear, science-based rules. Operators invest in safe, monitored and proven technology. Industry continues to reduce waste at the source and communities stay informed and engaged.
Australia doesn’t need ideology here. It needs practical, staged investment that supports recycling and manages the unavoidable. Ultimately, it would result in reducing our climate footprint now, not 20 years from now.
The takeaway from ReGen Expo was simple. Waste-to-Energy isn’t the whole solution. Without it, Australia can’t reach a circular, low carbon resource system.
It’s time to cut the noise, trust the evidence and move forward, together.
Access the Waste to Energy session captured live at ReGen 2025
Fill in your details below to access the Waste to Energy seminar recording from ReGen Expo 2025