Lane Cove's general waste (red lid bin) is transported by rail, along with waste from several other Council's, to Veolia Environmental Services' Woodlawn Bioreactor, near Goulburn. Once there, the waste deposited into the Bioreactor breaks down rapidly to produce methane. The methane is then used to produce green energy. At full capacity, the Woodlawn Bioreactor (and the on-site wind farm) can generate almost 300,000MWh per year, providing equivalent power for 37,500 homes per year.
In addition to this, Veolia, in partnership with several Sydney councils, have recently launched the Mechanical and Biological Treatment facility at Woodlawn Eco-precinct. This facility uses resource recovery technology to extract organic content from Council's waste streams; producing compost for on-site mine rehabilitation. The facility also has the ability to transform residual waste into clean heat for their barramundi farm and green energy for the grid. The facility will process 144,000 tonnes of waste per annum and will divert more than half of participating councils' general waste tonnes away from landfill.
Since 16 March 2026, Lane Cove Council began a food waste service (maroon lid bin) that removes food from the general waste stream (red lid bin) and is processed separately at Veolia's EarthPower facility in Camilia (near Parramatta and Rosehill Racecourse). Stand-alone houses began the food waste service in 2026. Units, apartments and townhouses will start to join the service from 2027, with all Lane Cove households using the service by July 2030.
For more information on the Food Waste Service, please visit the Food Waste page on our website.