Victoria's Waste to Energy Scheme

The Waste to Energy Scheme implements the Victorian Waste to Energy Framework.

Recycling Victoria regulates market-related aspects of thermal waste to energy processes under Victoria’s Waste to Energy Scheme. It ensures that licensed facilities only accept approved amounts and specific types of residual wastes.

There is a cap on the amount of permitted waste that can be treated using thermal waste to energy processes to ensure investment in waste to energy facilities does not compromise our current and future investment in Victoria’s efforts to avoid, reuse and recycle more waste in future.

The Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021 (CE Act) provides for the Head, Recycling Victoria to:

• issue waste to energy licences
• regulate thermal waste to energy facilities.

Recycling Victoria’s role

Recycling Victoria’s role is to support a strong and resilient circular economy with robust market investment and growth through leadership, stewardship and oversight of Victoria’s waste, recycling and resource recovery services.

Recycling Victoria regulates the market-related aspects of thermal waste to energy processes under Victoria’s Waste to Energy Scheme.

Infrastructure investment

Through our licensing role, we enable sector infrastructure investment that supports increased waste, recycling and resource recovery capacity to meet Victoria’s future demands.

Recycling Victoria is guided by Victoria’s long-term waste, recycling and resource recovery infrastructure needs and opportunities as outlined in Victoria’s Recycling Infrastructure Plan (VRIP).

This includes considering factors such as population growth, residual waste forecasts and projected landfill closures. The VRIP guides planning and investment in waste, recycling and resource recovery infrastructure over 30 years to support Victoria’s transition to a circular economy.

Responsibilities under the Scheme

Recycling Victoria is responsible for allocating cap licences that will contribute to a sustainable, resilient and effective market for residual waste management.

Recycling Victoria is responsible for:

• receiving and assessing applications for waste to energy licences in accordance with the CE Act
• ensuring that any cap licences issued fall under the cap limit
• ensuring that facilities only process certain types and amounts of waste
• monitoring and compliance activities to ensure the Waste to Energy Scheme rules and licence conditions are adhered to.

Recycling Victoria does not regulate facilities converting waste to energy via non-thermal processes such as anaerobic digestion.

Recycling Victoria does not assess the suitability of the specific location of a proposed facility from a local impact or amenity perspective. These matters continue to be comprehensively considered through existing Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) and planning approval processes.

Regulation of thermal waste to energy facilities

In addition to a Waste to Energy licence under the Scheme, anyone who wants to develop and operate a thermal waste to energy facility in Victoria must obtain all required regulatory approvals before they can commence construction and operation.

These are separate processes, and each regulator considers each application independently and on their own merits.

This includes approvals from the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) to address any environmental and human health impacts from the facility.

Planning approvals are also still required from responsible authorities, such as local governments or the Minister for Planning, which consider the appropriateness of the facility for the specific location, including amenities and other considerations.

Recycling Victoria does not assess the suitability of the specific location of a proposed facility from a local impact or amenity perspective. These matters will continue to be comprehensively considered through existing EPA and planning approval processes.

The following approvals are required:

• Development and Operating licences from EPA, which consider the environmental and human health impacts from the facility.
• Planning approvals from responsible authorities, such as local governments or the Minister for Planning, consider the appropriateness of the facility for the specific location, including amenities and other considerations.

Other agencies will also have a role in regulating thermal waste to energy facilities, including:

• Australian Energy Market Operator, Australian Energy Regulator and Australian Energy Market Commission, who are responsible for regulating National Electricity Market (NEM) participation.
• Energy Safe Victoria – responsible for regulating energy safety.
• WorkSafe – responsible for regulating worker safety at all sites and dangerous goods at workplaces, including waste to energy facilities.

Waste to Energy Scheme: Guidance on the scope of the Scheme

The Waste to Energy Scheme: Guidance on the scope of the Scheme provides guidance for proposed waste to energy facilities, including:

• whether your proposed facility needs a waste to energy licence to operate
• what you need to do if your proposed facility is within scope of the Scheme

View or download the Waste to Energy Scheme: Guidance on the Scope of the Scheme document

Scope overview

The Waste to Energy Scheme regulates thermal waste to energy facilities. The purpose of the scheme is to ensure only specific amounts and types of waste are used in thermal waste the energy processes.

Whether a facility falls within the scope of the Scheme is determined by all of the following:

• The type of technology/process it will use.
• The type of waste it will process.
• The outputs from the process.

Determining whether your proposed facility is in or out of scope

The table below outlines whether a proposed waste to energy facility is in or out of scope of the Scheme. More detailed information and guidance is contained in the Guidance on the scope of the Scheme. Please read the Waste to Energy Scheme: Guidance on the scope of the Scheme to ensure you understand whether your proposed facility requires a Waste to Energy Licence.

^{*Where a process is outside of the scope of the Scheme, other regulatory approvals may still be required, such as an EPA development licence or planning permit for the construction and operation of a waste processing facility.}

The following non thermal processes are not in scope of the Scheme and do not require a Waste to Energy licence.

Further information

• Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021
• Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) (Waste to Energy Scheme) Regulations 2023
• Waste to energy: A framework for sustainable and appropriate investment
• New recycling laws and governance
• A08 (Waste to energy) licences - Environment Protection Authority permissioning decisions register