Arabic version: تجربة وقود النفايات لدى أدبري تواجه معارضة المجلس

According to ABC News, Adelaide cement maker Adbri has been approved to conduct a six-week trial of increased plastic waste-derived fuel use at its Birkenhead factory, prompting opposition from Port Adelaide Enfield Council, its mayor and a resident group. The South Australian Environment Protection Authority approved the trial last week, with operations due to begin on Tuesday.

The trial allows the factory’s calciner to burn up to 32 tonnes an hour of refuse-derived fuel, with plastic making up no more than 20 per cent. The cement kiln can use the fuel at a maximum rate of 10 tonnes an hour and a 50 per cent plastic concentration. The EPA said that rate was not expected to be sustained on an ongoing basis.

Port Adelaide Enfield Council voted last week to obtain urgent legal advice on seeking an injunction. It is also calling for independent oversight in addition to the EPA’s final decision and for 24-hour stack monitoring. Mayor Claire Boan said residents were worried about potential long-term health effects and said the council was not seeking to close the factory.

Adbri said it had used refuse-derived fuel since the early 2000s, diverting at least 2.7 million tonnes of landfill waste and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. A spokesperson said the proposed fuel was a highly processed engineered product required to meet strict EPA standards and quality controls before use.

EPA compliance director Steven Sergi said monitoring would cover the site’s stack and ambient air quality in the community, including particles, sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. He said the kiln’s 1,400-degree Celsius temperature was expected to completely combust the fuel, including plastics, and that the trial would stop immediately if licence parameters, particularly air-quality limits, were exceeded. The EPA plans unannounced inspections and expects a report within 90 days of the trial’s completion.