Sunbury Eco-Hub

Australia currently operates as a linear economy. This means resources are sourced, products are made and used, then waste and discarded products are sent to landfill. To take better care of our environment, we need to transition to a more sustainable system.

A circular economy recycles and reuses existing products and materials to make new products or create energy. The purpose of a circular economy is to reduce waste going to landfill, deliver environmental benefits, and preserve precious resources.

In 2021, the Victorian Government created the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act to advance our transition to a circular economy. EPA Victoria also released its waste hierarchy model, helping businesses and individuals avoid waste and consider other uses for it than landfill.

Both of these materials recognise Waste-to-Energy as a preferred option for managing residual waste over landfill. 

While avoiding and minimising waste production is the most important step, we will always have some waste left to manage. HiQ is proposing to invest in a Waste-to-Energy facility to turn waste that cannot be recycled or reused into energy that powers businesses and households in our community and state, and support Victoria’s circular economy.

Waste-to-Energy (WtE) refers to the process of converting non-hazardous residual waste that can’t be recycled or recovered into energy sources such as heat, electricity, gas and liquid fuels, while recovering metals and aggregate. It helps to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and divert waste away from landfills.

Waste-to-Energy facilities follow clear processes. HiQ’s proposed site will follow a three-step process:

1. Non-hazardous material arrives on site. This is material that isn’t able to be reused or recycled in accordance with Victorian Government requirements, such as household waste, and pre-sorted materials from construction, demolition and commercial operations.
2. The waste material is handled through an enclosed facility for combustion and processing before it produces energy. Bottom ash will be recycled as metals and aggregate for road construction. The residue from the air pollution control would be safely disposed of.
3. Energy is distributed to local users, site facilities, and to bolster Victoria’s electricity grid.

Energy-from-Waste is an established and commonly used source of generating energy around the world. There are currently more than 2,000 EfW facilities in operation, including within major metropolitan areas such as Paris, London, Tokyo and Copenhagen to name a few.

HiQ is proposing to partner with Kanadevia Inova (KVI), a world-leading technology provider to construct the facility. KVI has been building and maintaining WtE plants for over 90 years, including facilities in Australia, the UK, Switzerland, Dubai, Finland, Germany, Japan and many more.

If approved, HiQ’s facility would be governed under strict conditions set by the relevant regulators, including EPA Victoria and the Department of Transport and Planning. We are committed to best practice operations in all we do and would work to uphold best practice standards.

Material excavated or removed from construction sites, infrastructure projects and industrial operations often has quality and reusable product mixed in with waste. Due to a lack of recycling and recovery infrastructure, the material is often sent to landfill, regardless of potential for reuse.

We are proposing to expand our existing resource recovery solutions, including a drill mud plant and soil washing. The drill mud treatment plant would separate muds into solids and liquids before treating the remaining waste for reuse. Soil washing would process soil and fine materials to separate soil from liquid before treating it for reuse.

We are also proposing to establish a recycling facility and a hazardous waste treatment facility on-site. These would separate, process, and treat materials before returning them to the market or enabling safe disposal. These services will operate in fully enclosed facilities and be co-located with our Waste-to-Energy facility.

Between 2020-21, Australia generated approx. 75.8 million tonnes of waste, an increase of approximately six million tonnes since 2016-17, according to the National Waste Report 2022. While waste is increasing, the proportion of waste being recycled or reused is not.

In Victoria, the situation is similar. As our population grows, so does the waste generated by households and businesses across the state. Victoria’s residual waste (material that can’t be avoided, recycled or reused in any other way) is set to increase to nine million tonnes per year by 2053 – nearly double what was produced in 2022-23 (Recycling Victoria).

Our natural resources are shrinking, making it more difficult to sustainably build and manage Victoria’s significant infrastructure pipeline and our fast-growing population. At the same time, Australia and Victoria have set ambitious net zero and recycling targets.

To take better care of our environment, we need to transition to a more sustainable system, by changing our way we approach and manage waste.

No, the facility still requires environmental and planning approvals before it can be constructed or operated.

In August 2025, HiQ Group was granted a Waste-to-Energy Cap Licence by Recycling Victoria, which designates it as a key site within Victoria’s Waste-to-Energy Framework, subject to receiving environmental and planning approvals.

Over the coming months, HiQ will finalise and submit comprehensive applications to EPA Victoria and the Department of Transport and Planning. These will include detailed technical and environmental assessments.

These applications, including the full assessments, will be made publicly available for comment and feedback before a decision is made. We will keep the community updated throughout the process.

You can register to receive project updates by emailing sunbury@hiq.au. 

Recycling Victoria is the Victorian Government agency responsible for reforming the state’s waste and recycling systems and advancing its transition to a circular economy. As part of this work, it developed a Waste-to-Energy Framework, which recognises the role for Waste-to-Energy in diverting waste to landfill.

Recycling Victoria has set a cap of 2.5 million tonnes per year accepted to be processed through these facilities across the state.

Earlier this year, HiQ submitted an Expression of Interest to receive a licence to design, construct and operate an Energy-from-Waste Facility under this process.

On 19 August 2025, Recycling Victoria announced that HiQ has been granted a licence to process up to 750,000 tonnes of residual material under that cap. Read Recycling Victoria’s announcement here.

Over the coming months, we will submit environmental and planning approvals to EPA Victoria and the Department of Planning. These will include comprehensive technical assessments, which the community will have an opportunity to review and provide feedback on.

We will keep the community informed at every stage.

You can register to receive project updates by emailing sunbury@hiq.au.

As part of our applications, specialist technical assessments will be conducted following the General Environmental Duty requirement outlined in the Environment Protection Act 2017. These will include noise, visual, air quality, human health, odour, dust and vibration.

Full reports will be available as part of EPA Victoria’s public exhibition process. The community will have the opportunity to comment and give feedback throughout this process.

Hume City is one of Victoria’s fastest growing regions, with an expected 20% expansion by 2041. Currently Sunbury is expanded by two Precinct Structure Plans. These were developed to provide infrastructure, jobs, and community amenities required for Sunbury, including the 6,000 jobs to be created.

HiQ is a key part of providing these jobs. The site is earmarked for employment, and its evolution will provide skilled, local jobs for Sunbury, Bulla, and Hume City. Our proposed activities are expected to provide hundreds of direct and indirect jobs for the area.

In addition, by diverting more waste from landfill, we are reducing methane and other greenhouse gas emissions. We are also generating energy for the local area and protecting our environment for the future.  

We proposed HiQ’s Sunbury Eco-Hub as a location for Waste-to-Energy for several reasons:

1. We are building an integrated recovery precinct that will provide solutions for resource recovery, treatment, energy recovery and disposal. This means that after all reduction and avoidance tools are used, Victoria’s remaining waste is better managed at every step.
2. We already accept large volumes of municipal red bin waste – including from Sunbury, Bulla and across Hume – which is currently disposed of in our landfill. Waste-to-Energy means these materials would instead be turned into energy to power houses and businesses.
3. We are located in a growing area that requires new solutions to manage its increasing waste. Waste-to-Energy facilities operate more efficiently when they’re located close to where the waste is produced. With Hume being one of Victoria’s growing communities and a significant producer of waste, it makes sense for the facility to be better managed, right here. This is in line with the Sunbury South Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) and is significant for Hume’s employment development.

In August 2025, HiQ Group was granted a Waste-to-Energy (WtE) Cap Licence by Recycling Victoria. This milestone marks a key step forward in progressing the Sunbury Eco-Hub.

Over the coming months, we will submit environmental and planning applications to EPA Victoria and the Department of Planning. These will include comprehensive technical assessments, which the community will have an opportunity to review and provide feedback on.

As part of this, we are updating comprehensive technical assessments, including human health, air quality, traffic, groundwater, soil and more.

We expect these to be submitted to EPA Victoria and the Minister for Planning later this year, and we will keep you updated throughout this process.

If these are approved, it is expected that construction on the resource recovery and recycling facilities may begin in early 2027.  Detailed facility design and construction of a WtE facility would be between late 2027 and 2030-31, with commissioning and full scale operations expected to commence by late 2030. These timings are indicative and may change as the program progresses. 

In 2024, HiQ submitted applications to continue operations of Bulla Spoils Facility to enable it to continue processing large volumes of tunnel boring machine material.

In 2025, HiQ reviewed this application together with the surrounding and future land uses, and made the decision to remove that application. Doing so allows HiQ to accelerate the future land use plans aligned with the Sunbury South Precinct Structure Plan.

Once this is approved, HiQ will commence rehabilitation of the site.

To safely close and cap the site, we’ll need to fill the containment cell. We’re currently exploring a licence with EPA Victoria to accept Category A and B waste as part of this process.

As a result, we will no longer accept material from tunnel boring machines.

We’ll continue to keep the community informed as the BSF and other minor resource recovery activities progress.

The facility will use technology from Kanadevia Inova (KVI), a world-leading technology provider, to construct the facility. KVI has been building and maintaining WtE plants for over 90 years each tailored to the needs of its location.

An artist’s impression of the Sunbury WtE facility can be found below. Final design and appearance may differ.

We will be in the community throughout this project, including running webinars, pop-ups and ongoing consultation.

We also operate a dedicated phone line and email address and encourage anyone with questions to reach out at any time.

You can contact us any time by calling 03 9021 0678 or by emailing sunbury@hiq.au. You can also ask a question via  www.hiqualitysunbury.com.au