Name
Let the market decide: Australia's adaptive pathways for resource recovery
Description
Australia’s PFAS National Environment Plan 3.0 gives PFAS and organics limits for biosolids meaning understanding alternatives to land application is increasingly urgent. Individual states are on different timelines but share a common need to explore alternative outputs and offtake markets. This is directly relatable to the position in Europe, where limits are gradually being introduced that constrain, rather than close biosolids landbanks. Previous work has identified the resource recovery options and linked them to the Australian water sector’s drivers and ambitions. This project was initiated by Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) to gain critical insight into the off-take market demand for resources such as biochar and biocrude, where they are located, price-points and comparing them as value propositions. Not all markets and production processes are fully mature, therefore state-level adaptive plans have been produced to articulate the transition timescales, decision points and opportunities for in each state. AtkinsRéalis led the development of this project, using a collaborative process involving utilities, regulators and industrial off-takers from across Australia. The resulting insights provide a commercial framework to assess resource recovery in the near and long-term and are directly translatable to the challenges and opportunities faced by UK and EU water sectors.
Authors
Peter Talboys and Sarah-Jane Westlake, AtkinsRealis, UK
Jason Mingo and Sarah Martin, Water Services Association of Australia, Australia
Matt Stewart and Robert Naylor, AtkinsRealis, Australia