The safe disposal of PFAS (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is one of the most urgent issues in waste management today.
PFAS waste arises in the manufacture of products that can resist heat, oil, grease and water. This includes a wide range of clothing, food packaging and non-stick cooking surfaces. PFAS cannot easily break down in the environment, resulting in air and water contamination, and a serious risk to human health.
Currently the issue of PFAS is receiving considerable attention in Australia, particularly with regard to contamination of drinking water. Here, and to a greater extent in the US, court cases have been brought against government and private companies based on the production, management and storage of PFAS. This raises the issue of waste disposal liability for Australian companies and their boards.
At the moment, the bulk of PFAS waste in Australia is disposed in landfill; or, if its concentration is above the threshold of 50mg/kg, by thermal destruction. However, in the US recently, there has been concern that it is difficult to monitor thermal destruction technologies to confirm all PFAS material is actually destroyed, and not released into the surrounding air, further contaminating nearby communities
Geological repositories, like the one operated by Tellus at Sandy Ridge in the WA Goldfields, provide an environmentally safe (if not superior) waste solution for the problem of PFAS than either landfill or thermal destruction.
Tellus supports stringent regulation for the safe management of PFAS pollution, including through state and national regulation guided by international standards. However, Australia’s current regulatory approach does not fully recognise the safety benefits of geological repositories for PFAS management, limiting the range of options to manage PFAS waste.
This is the result of an anomaly in existing PFAS regulations that group together landfill and geological disposal: two completely different technologies. While Tellus has disposed of some PFAS material, this anomaly has thus far limited the contribution of Sandy Ridge in solving this challenge.
This risks poorer environmental outcomes for Australians and financial risks for government and industry. Environmental regulation should evolve as the market for hazardous waste disposal continues to broaden and newer, safer solutions become available.
The Australian Parliament’s Select Committee on PFAS is currently examining the regulation and management of PFAS chemicals. Our submission argues that environmental regulation should take account of the unique attributes of geological repositories for disposing of PFAS in an environmentally responsible way.
You can read our Submission here:
Submission: https://tellus.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Submission-83-Tellus.pdf
Attachment: https://tellus.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Attachment-to-submission-83-Tellus.pdf