Ennovo’s Dr Ben Dearman believes that the move to remove food waste and other readily degradable organics from landfill streams will fundamentally alter how landfill gas is generated and managed.
“This removal definitely impacts on the landfill gas generation rates,” he said. “In terms of landfill gas management, it does change the way that you approach it. What it’s actually going to do is lower the generation rates, the quality of gas is likely to be lower, and management approaches will need to change. This will impact landfill gas infrastructure requirements in regard to Capex and Opex decisions that are made. It’s going to be different from the way it used to be,” he said.
Dearman also believes these implications will extend to environmental management. He highlighted that with a decline in gas production, sites may have to implement different strategies to manage emissions over the standard 30-year period typically required after closure. He also pointed out the likelihood of more low-calorific flares being deployed and passive systems replacing large standard flares and power generation systems, as gas quality declines.
Ennovo’s position gives it a distinctive perspective on these challenges. Unlike organisations that work in only one area of waste management, Ennovo has experience both in landfill gas services and in the recycled organics sector. This dual expertise allows it to anticipate the effects of changing waste composition on gas systems while also understanding the pressures on composting infrastructure. By being involved at both ends of the chain, the company can provide insights into how one side’s adjustments inevitably affect the other.
Regulatory change and organics diversion
New South Wales has committed to legislating dedicated organics disposal by 2030, a move that will increase the diversion of food and green waste from landfill. Dearman observed that this shift is both a challenge and an opportunity. On the one hand, it strengthens the composting industry by providing a feedstock. On the other, it puts pressure on infrastructure and markets that may struggle to keep pace.
“Instead of putting those plant and soil nutrients in the landfill, you’re hanging on to them so you can return it to the soil,” he said. “That’s the big benefit of not putting our organics into landfill.”
At the same time, he cautioned that the effectiveness of diversion depends on the quality of the facilities themselves. Poorly managed compost sites can become anaerobic, generating harmful emissions similar to those from landfills. Both sectors, he said, require disciplined management to deliver true environmental benefits. Legislating diversion is only part of the solution — ensuring that both landfill operations and compost facilities meet high standards is equally important.
Ennovo’s dual involvement means it is often in the position of identifying weaknesses on both sides. Dearman made clear that while a well-run landfill gas capture system can neutralise environmental impacts effectively, the reality is that not all facilities are managed to that standard. Equally, composting operations that slip into anaerobic conditions can create new problems. His analysis underscores the need for consistency and rigour across the entire system, not just within isolated facilities.
Designing effective gas management systems
“In the past, landfills with high organic content have a standard gas collection system,” he said. “This system might be connected to a generator making electricity. As new cells come online they are likely to have low organic content. Those new cells might not connect up to the original gas collection system because the gas quality is so low that it’s going to have a negative effect on the ability to run engines. Moving forward, you might connect new cells to a standard flare or a low-calorific flare as opposed to standard engines.”
This dual system model reflects the practical realities of future landfill gas management. The emphasis, however, will be on robust capture and treatment, ensuring emissions are contained regardless of the technology chosen.
“We deal with diverse waste systems, from small closed landfills in rural and regional areas, through to the large metropolitan landfills around major cities,” said Dearman. “Regardless of the size of the landfill, the gas has to be managed.”
This point highlights another challenge: public safety and land use planning. Repurposed landfill sites are often turned into parks, sporting fields or community buildings. Even decades after closure, gas may still be emitted, creating risks that must be assessed and mitigated. The long-term nature of management remains a constant theme. While regulatory frameworks typically require 30 years of monitoring and control post-closure, Dearman anticipates that changes in waste composition will affect how quickly sites move through the phases of active engines, flaring, and finally passive systems. Some stages may occur sooner, but the overall duration of responsibility may extend. This presents a financial as well as an environmental challenge, requiring operators to budget for systems that might run at low intensity for decades.
Building sustainable compost markets
“With all these organics coming into the marketplace, the big issue that needs to be to be addressed in a meaningful way is the end market,” said Dearman. “We’re going to have millions of tonnes of compost material, and it’s just going to be sitting there with nowhere to go.”
He identified farmers and agronomists as key partners in building sustainable markets. Linking compost production to broadacre farming, and other sectors will be essential to prevent oversupply. The variety of potential uses is broad, but the challenge is ensuring consistent quality and matching products to the right applications.
“These challenges include the locations of the repurposed organics, as well as the types of markets they go into such as horticulture and broadacre farming,” said Dearman.
Ennovo’s work in this area reflects its recognition that the success of regulatory changes cannot be judged only by what is diverted from landfill. Without strong demand for compost products, the system risks creating stockpiles rather than solutions. Dearman’s comments emphasise the importance of market development, something he described as being insufficiently addressed in current debates.
He pointed out that while many organisations are working to develop these connections, much more needs to be done to ensure a balanced system. Without strong end markets, the benefits of diversion could be undermined by stockpiles of compost with no clear outlet. This risk illustrates a recurring theme of his analysis: progress in waste management depends not only on individual facilities or isolated policies, but on the integration of systems, markets, and long-term planning.