Premier explores waste energy

Premier Colin Barnett and South Metropolitan MLC Phil Edman have visited incinerator plants in Tokyo while in Japan to mark Western Australia's 30th anniversary with sister state Hyogo.

After touring one of Moltoni Energy's reference sites in Tokyo, Mr Edman said he was encouraging Kwinana Town Council to adopt waste-to-energy technologies to help combat the State's increasing landfill issues.

Mr Edman said he was impressed by the technology, which takes residential and other wastes and converts it to low-cost renewable energy.

He said the process uses a mass-combustion process that safely processes waste using extremely high-temperatures, and the heat used created steam to drive turbines to generate electricity.

``This cutting-edge technology not only creates clean, renewable energy but the process completely converts all the waste received with the residual ash by-products into bricks and tiles for road construction (so) nothing goes back into landfill,'' he said.

He said discussions were already under way for Moltoni Energy to build an incinerator in Kwinana - the first waste-to-energy plant of its type in Australia.

``The plant would see a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a significant reduction in landfill and many local jobs created during and after construction,'' he said.

``The Moltoni Energy plant will enable councils to generate additional income from the resale of energy while supporting families, by avoiding the costs and levies associated with landfill sites and to contest the Commonwealth's proposed carbon tax which has caused concern among many financially-struggling families.'''

Alliance for a Clean Environment president Jane Bremmer said it was disappointing that Mr Barnett and Mr Edman had visited incinerators overseas when the Liberal Party had turned down invitations to attend a presentation by the world's leading waste expert Paul Connett when he was in Perth last month.