Matt, you are the National Remediation Services Manager at Veolia Australia and New Zealand. What do you love most about your role at Veolia, and what motivates you personally in this work?
I love finding solutions to difficult problems. I am motivated by the purpose of the role – “depolluting” as we call it at Veolia, or cleaning up the environment in other words. Since I started this line of business at Veolia in 2018 I have grown the team to 30 brilliant people delivering projects all across Australia. I have loved the challenge of building this business from the ground up, bringing together the various other parts of Veolia such as our water operations team or our hazardous waste business to deliver projects. My favourite part is the “before and after” photos, where we start with a patch of land covered in contaminated soil stockpiles, waste debris and asbestos, and end with a clean area replanted with native grasses or vegetation.
What initially prompted Veolia to get involved in PFAS remediation, and what were those early days like as you grappled with such a complex and evolving issue?
Veolia was awarded the Department of Defence waste services contract in 2014, so we became involved in our capacity as hazardous waste managers to find a solution for our client (a contract which Veolia still holds). Veolia also had a lot of other clients who were grappling with the same types of issues – think oil and gas, airports. In those days the PFAS regulations were in their infancy so we worked hand-in-glove with regulators and customers to deliver pragmatic solutions to manage their PFAS impacted water and soil. I helped our Brooklyn liquid treatment facility obtain the first licence in Victoria to treat PFAS impacted water. Veolia already had the tools available to manage PFAS via our water treatment business, we just had to apply them in new and different ways.
How would you compare the PFAS situation in Australia to the developments happening internationally, particularly in the United States?
The PFAS market in each country has been driven primarily by local needs. Australia was a first mover due to situations where historical AFFF use had potentially resulted in offsite impacts. The US started their PFAS journey later but the issue is more widespread as it impacts drinking water supplies, so now there is much more activity in that market. Whereas Veolia Australia operates 12 water assets treating PFAS impacted water from fire training or to remove PFAS before the water is released to the environment, our US business operates 34 water treatment assets targeting PFAS, including a 114 ML/day surface water treatment plant, with another 50 – 70 planned by the end of the decade. Veolia Australia is also different from the US in our contaminated soil solutions, such as our thermal desorption capability at our Earthsure facility. Veolia Australia supports our customers to manage contaminated soil stockpiles by offering a range of options starting with soil characterisation, then reviewing options for re-use or onsite containment vs offsite treatment or disposal. My team then delivers that solution, with the on-site project management, then our facilities accept the soil at the back-end, if offsite management is the chosen pathway. Our teams in Australia have managed PFAS contaminated soil stockpiles totalling over 200,000 tonnes for clients over the past 3 years.
Veolia is a global leader in environmental solutions. How does its international experience and history influence your work in Australia, especially regarding PFAS and emerging contaminants?
Being a global company means we have deeper access to operational experience and data which we can share more readily. For example our technical team has a library containing information with just about every PFAS treatment technology in the world, which is constantly being updated. Veolia is not a technology inventor so we base our responses on where the science is at and what technology is out there. We rely on proven technologies to give our customers and the regulators confidence in our solutions. For example if we are installing a water treatment plant to treat PFAS for a city of 500,000 people in the USA, the capital cost to install the plant will likely run into the millions of dollars so we need to make sure the technology is proven and effective. Our teams are also constantly looking for ways to optimise and operate more efficiently as any experienced asset operator does. It’s an exciting time and things are always evolving.
Veolia’s “Beyond PFAS” offering is generating interest. Can you share what it entails and what makes it a significant advancement in PFAS treatment?
Beyond PFAS is Veolia’s answer to the PFAS issue – with complete, ready to deploy solutions that address the health, regulatory and environmental challenges posed by PFAS. Currently Veolia has the only solution on the market that can tackle 100% of the issue from diagnostics and treatment to elimination and compliance. For PFAS contaminated water this means testing and design of a plant, installing and operating, then managing the waste at the end. For contaminated soil this means testing, assessing all alternatives including onsite management or offsite options, then treatment at our Earthsure facility or disposal at one of our landfills if appropriate. Veolia also developed a robust contractual framework to protect clients, ensure compliance with evolving laws and manage risks proactively.
What can we expect from Veolia at ecoforum 2025, including what you have planned for your stand? I believe you also have some very special speakers lined up for the ecoforum program!
Our global head of municipal water Carol Walczyk, from Veolia North America, will be attending Ecoforum and delivering a keynote about PFAS in the USA. Carol has been at the forefront of Veolia’s response there so her talk will be a fascinating insight into how Veolia has approached the PFAS challenge including new regulations, compliance and innovation. Dr John Lucas from Veolia Australia will also be part of the panel chaired by Jens Blotevogel from CSIRO discussing PFAS thermal destruction technologies. Plus our Remediation team will be well represented at the Veolia stand, so feel free to drop by for a confidential discussion about your remediation or PFAS challenges.
As someone based in Melbourne with a national role, you are likely well-acquainted with much of Australia. What are you most looking forward to when you come to Brisbane for ecoforum?
I always look forward to ecoforum as an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and clients from across industry. It’s the go-to conference for our industry, there are so many familiar faces. It’s also a great opportunity for everyone to share their work – I enjoy getting new ideas and keeping up with the latest developments.
Matt Ead
Matt has nearly 20 years experience in Engineering and Project Delivery in Australia and the UK. Matt is an accomplished Chemical Engineer with significant experience working in hazardous waste, contaminated soil and water remediation with major clients across the oil & gas, chemical, manufacturing and Defence sectors. Matt heads up Veolia’s national Remediation Services team, managing a team of 30 engineers and technicians to deliver in-field projects across Australia. Matt is also part of Veolia’s global PFAS Core-team, which shares best practice and operational excellence across the Group.