Key Takeaways:
Long-term partnership driving decarbonisation: Since 2017, Cleanaway and the CEFC have committed $180M to transform Australia's waste sector, targeting hard‑to‑abate emissions and shifting from landfill disposal to a circular, resource‑recovery model.
- Integrated solutions across the waste system: The collaboration combines landfill methane capture, low‑emissions transport, advanced recycling, organics processing (FOGO), and energy‑from‑waste to deliver measurable emissions reductions and operational improvements.
- Scaling high-impact infrastructure and behaviour change: Investments are expanding facilities like Eastern Creek Organics, developing innovations like Cycleback Plastics, and promoting education programs to reduce waste, cut methane emissions, and support Australia's transition to a circular economy.
CEFC and Cleanaway: Investing in the sustainable future of Australia, together.
Since 2017, Cleanaway and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) have worked together to help accelerate the transition toward a lower-emissions, more circular waste sector in Australia. With a cumulative investment commitment reaching $180 million to date, this collaboration targets 'hard-to-abate' waste streams to drive measurable environmental outcomes.
Cleanaway CFO Paul Binfield said: "This collaboration with the CEFC shows what's possible when finance works hand in hand with our business operations. Together, we're demonstrating that the waste sector can be a powerful force for decarbonisation and a cornerstone of Australia's circular economy."
Decarbonising the sector requires more than a single technology or policy solution. It requires landfill gas capture, lower-emissions transport, advanced recycling systems, organics recovery, logistics infrastructure, energy recovery pathways and behaviour change programs working together across an integrated system.
Over the past decade, the Cleanaway-CEFC partnership has supported projects across many of these areas, offering a practical example of how Australia's waste sector is evolving from a largely disposal-focused industry into one increasingly centred on resource recovery, emissions reduction and circular economy outcomes.
The first phase in 2017 delivered:
- Emissions abatement: Successfully delivered annual emissions abatement of more than 100 ktCO2-e.
- Operational efficiency: Funding enabled a range of unique investments that increased resource recovery and recycling rates across Cleanaway's national network.
- Renewable capacity: Cleanaway deployed behind-the-meter renewable energy capacity, reducing reliance on carbon-intensive grid electricity.
CEFC Executive Director, Rupert Maloney said: "To meet our emissions reduction targets, we must focus on those sectors which face challenges to abate emissions and our investments with Cleanaway reflect our continued commitment to supporting efforts by the waste sector to decarbonise. This collaboration recognises Cleanaway's unique position to drive the decarbonisation of the waste sector, as well as its own customers' decarbonisation journey, and to advance Australia's transition to a sustainable, circular economy. And it shows that progress can be made, delivering significant abatement results. By continuing to support this market leader's ambitious program, we will unlock more high-impact projects and drive innovation across the industry."
Reducing landfill emissions
According to the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water , Australia's waste sector accounted for approximately three per cent of national emissions in 2025. Much of those emissions come from landfill methane.
To address this, the CEFC committed an additional $90 million at the end of 2025 to support Cleanaway's next stage of decarbonisation. This investment fast-tracks initiatives across three critical areas:
1. Direct methane and landfill mitigation
Landfills represent Cleanaway's largest source of emissions. The partnership enables:
- Targeted gas capture: Designing and drilling specialised wells to expand methane collection infrastructure as well as cutting-edge methane detection technology integrated with drones
- Resource conversion: Innovating to convert captured landfill gas into high-value commodities beyond electricity.
2. Decarbonising our heavy vehicle fleet
Cleanaway is tackling transport emissions by trialling cutting-edge propulsion technologies:
- Alternative fuels: Testing low-carbon fuels and hydrogen propulsion systems.
- Electrification: Deploying electric-powered trucks for heavy-duty waste collection.
3. Circular economy infrastructure
To keep materials out of landfills, the investment supports large-scale recovery projects:
- FOGO expansion: Increasing capacity at the Eastern Creek Organics facility by 35% to process food and garden organics, preventing methane formation and creating nutrient-rich compost.
- Advanced chemical recycling: Supporting Cleanaway in its development of the Cycleback Plastics facility in partnership with Viva Energy to transform soft plastics into circular polypropylene identical to virgin resin.
Energy from Waste (EfW): Progressing early-stage EfW plants that recover energy from residual waste, significantly reducing the land footprint compared to traditional landfills.
Eastern Creek Organics: Scaling the FOGO revolution
Cleanaway transformed our Eastern Creek Organics facility from a traditional Municipal Solid Waste site into a high-capacity hub for Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) processing. Supported by CEFC capital, this transition increased the facility's processing capacity by 35%, directly addressing one of the most significant sources of landfill methane.
By diverting organic waste from the general stream, the facility prevents harmful greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously converting 'waste' into nutrient-rich compost for the agricultural sector. This initiative serves as a scalable model for how infrastructure upgrades can immediately reduce a region's carbon footprint while supporting soil health.
Cycleback Plastics: Tackling the soft plastics challenge
Through Cycleback Plastics , a joint initiative with Viva Energy , Cleanaway is deploying advanced chemical recycling technology to tackle one of Australia's most hard to recycle plastic waste streams: soft plastics. Complementary to mechanical recycling, which is suited for mono-material streams such as plastic bottles, Cycleback Plastics provides the key investment required to transform mixed end-of-life plastics into high-quality circular polypropylene that is chemically identical to virgin resin.
This CEFC-backed initiative* provides a genuine circular pathway for materials that would otherwise be destined for landfill. By creating a closed-loop system, Cleanaway and Viva Energy are reducing the industry's reliance on fossil-fuel-based virgin plastics and establishing onshore recycling capability for Australia.
Energy from Waste (EfW): A new frontier in industrial decarbonisation
Cleanaway is spearheading Australia's transition to high-tech resource recovery through flagship Energy from Waste proposals across QLD, NSW and Victoria.
Supported by the CEFC partnership*, these facilities aim to divert millions of tonnes of residual waste from landfills annually, converting non-recyclable material into reliable baseload energy. Together, these projects represent a critical shift toward viewing residual waste as a vital resource rather than an environmental liability. *CEFC finance may be used to fund external development costs incurred to advance these strategic infrastructure projects to final investment decision (FID), and equity contributions by Cleanaway towards their construction.
Transitioning the heavy fleet: Low carbon transport solutions
Cleanaway is actively decarbonising our heavy vehicle fleet, identified as one of our two largest emission sources, through a multi-technology transition supported by the CEFC. The company is currently trialling and promoting high-impact propulsion systems, including hydrogen-powered and battery electric-powered trucks, to replace traditional diesel reliance.
These initiatives also encompass the testing of low-carbon fuels to achieve immediate emissions reductions across the existing fleet. By deploying these alternative technologies in real-world waste collection environments, Cleanaway is establishing a blueprint for the 'hard-to-abate' transport sector, proving that zero-emissions logistics are viable for heavy-duty industrial applications.
Education through Greenius: Democratising sustainability
The partnership recognises that infrastructure alone cannot achieve net zero. It requires a fundamental shift in user behaviour. Greenius , Cleanaway's market-leading online learning portal, serves as the educational engine of this decarbonisation journey. The platform empowers households, businesses, and policymakers by providing the technical knowledge needed to improve recycling accuracy and reduce contamination at the source. By funding these initiatives, the CEFC and Cleanaway ensure that every stakeholder in the waste value chain, from a small business owner to a local resident, has the tools and insights required to make smarter, emissions-conscious choices at the bin and beyond.
Recycling Behaviours Report: Driving evidence-based behaviour change
To ensure every dollar invested delivers maximum impact, Cleanaway and the CEFC leverage data-driven insights to map the evolution of Australian waste habits. By surveying the waste disposal behaviour of everyday Australians, the partnership identifies critical gaps in public recycling behaviours and infrastructure accessibility through our Recycling Behaviours Report .
This evidence-based approach allows Cleanaway to tailor its waste education strategy to the specific needs of communities. These insights are vital for driving the systemic changes required to transition Australia from a "take-make-waste" model to a truly sustainable circular economy.
Building a more circular waste system, together
Australia's waste sector is undergoing a structural transition . The industry is moving toward systems designed to recover more value from materials, reduce emissions and support circular manufacturing pathways.
That transition requires:
- long-term infrastructure investment
- operational expertise
- advanced recovery technologies
- domestic processing capability
- collaboration between industry, government and finance
The long-running partnership between Cleanaway and the CEFC provides one example of how that transition is already taking shape across landfill methane reduction, recycling infrastructure, organics recovery, advanced plastics processing and lower-emissions waste operations.
As Australia continues progressing toward net zero, waste infrastructure will play an increasingly important role not only in managing waste safely, but also in reducing emissions, recovering resources and supporting the development of a more circular economy.
Scaling Australia's Green Future Together
Since 2017, Cleanaway and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) have partnered to accelerate Australia's transition toward a lower-emissions, more circular waste sector. This long-term collaboration targets 'hard-to-abate' waste streams to drive measurable environmental and resource recovery outcomes across an integrated national system. By transforming residual waste into vital resources and baseload energy, Cleanaway and the CEFC are proving that sustainable, zero-emissions logistics and a true closed-loop economy are viable for Australia's future.
