Purposeful agility: building resilient waste infrastructure

Purposeful agility: delivering resilient waste infrastructure for a circular future

Written by Preet Brar, Executive GM Energy-from-Waste, Cleanaway 

Pictured: An artist’s render of Cleanaway’s proposed Melbourne Energy & Resource Centre (MERC)  
 

As Australia transitions towards a more circular economy, the way we plan and deliver critical waste infrastructure has never been more important.

Energy from Waste (EfW) has an important role to play in managing residual waste that cannot be avoided, reused or recycled. However, successful projects require more than technology. They require careful planning, disciplined decision-making and a clear focus on delivering long-term outcomes for communities, councils and regulators.

At the centre of this approach is a simple principle: agility only matters when it is anchored to purpose.  

Building resilience through integrated circular infrastructure  

Delivering the next generation of waste infrastructure requires more than selecting a technology. It requires careful planning, strong partnerships and the ability to respond as policy settings, market conditions and community expectations evolve.  

Cleanaway is applying this approach through the development of major Energy from Waste projects, including 
the Melbourne Energy and Resource Centre (MERC) in Victoria and the proposed Bromelton Energy and Resource Centre (BERC) in Queensland.

These projects form part of Cleanaway’s broader vision for integrated circular precincts: places where waste and resource recovery infrastructure work together to keep materials circulating at their highest value, recover resources where possible and create solutions for residual waste that currently has no viable recovery pathway.

By bringing together complementary infrastructure, circular precincts can support more efficient transport networks, enable collaboration with industry partners and create opportunities to recover greater value from materials that would otherwise be lost.

MERC and BERC are being developed as part of this integrated approach, providing a long-term solution for residual waste that cannot be recovered or recycled while supporting Victoria’s transition away from landfill. Across these projects, a consistent principle applies: resilient infrastructure is not accidental. It is created through disciplined choices made early in the pathway, from planning and design through to delivery and long term operation.  

Putting reliability first

Waste infrastructure must be designed to perform safely and consistently over decades.  

A reliability-first approach means considering every stage of development, including:  

• choosing planning pathways that align with policy settings and community needs  
• investing early in design, engineering and delivery certainty  
• understanding construction market capacity and project risks  
• building partnerships focused on long-term performance  
• progressively securing appropriate residual waste streams  
• placing community considerations such as emissions, health, odour, traffic and transparency at the centre of decision-making 

For councils, this approach provides confidence in long-term waste management services.  

For regulators, it supports evidence-based projects aligned with policy objectives.  

For communities, it helps build trust by demonstrating that impacts are understood, carefully assessed and responsibly managed.  

Developing infrastructure communities can trust  

The success of EfW projects will not be measured by technology alone. It will be measured by the ability to deliver safe, reliable and resilient waste solutions that support communities for decades.  

As Australia plans the next generation of waste infrastructure, purposeful agility will be critical: remaining adaptable while staying focused on the outcome that matters most.  

Creating infrastructure that communities can rely on, today and into the future.  

Learn more about MERC  
Explore how Cleanaway is planning future waste infrastructure for Victoria.  

Learn more about BERC  
Discover how Cleanaway is supporting long-term resource recovery solutions for Queensland.