Federal Minister for the Environment Josh Frydenberg has said that 12,000 truckloads of organic waste will be diverted away from regular landfill to the $65 million plant, which is located in Dandenong South. A Spanish waste management firm named Sacyr built the plant with the assistance of a $38 million Federal Government loan granted by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
CEO of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Ian Learmonth said the plant will do a lot to reduce harmful methane greenhouse gas emissions:
"With this technology, councils can avoid those emissions by turning their organic waste into re-usable compost."
Householders will be able to use their green bins, which are normally reserved for garden waste only, to dispose of food waste. High quality compost generated by the plant will be used by the eight local councils taking part in the program to help fertilise municipal gardens and parks.
Concern about noxious odours from the plant will be prevented by what Sacyr says is specialist technology to ensure storage units are completely sealed and reliably deodorised.