TONNES of Greater Sydney's rubbish could one day be incinerated at Tomago as the state stares down the barrel of a "waste and recycling crisis".

The suburb has been identified as a potential energy from waste precinct, and the clock is ticking for residents to have their say with submissions to the Select Committee on Proposed Energy from Waste Facilities inquiry closing October 31.

Kellie Thomas moved from Newcastle to Parkes in 2019, just 20 kilometres from the site of a proposed incinerator that has sparked serious concerns among residents and farmers.

The family relocated after her 10-year-old daughter Chloe's liver transplant, in search of fresh air and a smaller school, returning to Newcastle a few times a year to visit family and the transplant clinic.

"It's scary, there are places in Europe closing incinerators down because they have realised the detriment caused by having them doesn't outweigh the good," she said.

"Chloe is on immune-suppressing medication and will be for the foreseeable future ... we have to be careful when she gets a cold, let alone any contamination.

"We don't have access to mains water; we rely on tank water, so if any contaminants hit our roof and go into our drinking and showering water, I do have grave concerns over my daughter's health moving forward, given she's coming into this vulnerable to begin with."

Ms Thomas said she was concerned Hunter residents may not have been aware that the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) was considering changes to the locations where energy from waste facilities can be proposed and developed.

The NSW EPA is considering adding Tomago, near Newcastle, as a new priority infrastructure area.

The thermal treatment of waste is an option the state government is considering to avoid rubbish going to landfill, but it is not the ultimate goal.

Regulations mean large-scale energy from waste activities are restricted to regional precincts set out in the NSW Government Gazette.

While no large-scale energy from waste (EfW) facilities have been approved in NSW, two proposals are progressing, one in the Southern Goulbourn Mulwaree Precinct and another in the Parkes Special Activation Precinct.

A NSW EPA-commissioned analysis showed that even if those two proposals were approved, the capacity would not be enough to supplement shortfalls in landfill capacity facing regions across the state, leading the state government to consider Lithgow and Tomago.

Both of those sites are outside the four designated EfW precincts, so at this stage, they are unable to progress.

Without intervention, Greater Sydney's landfill space is set to run out by 2030. Over the next 20 years, the state's waste volumes are forecast to grow to 27 million tonnes in 2041.

In the NSW Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan, which sets out the proposed changes, the Minister for Energy and Climate Change and Environment and Heritage, Penny Sharpe, said that if NSW did not act now, red bins wouldn't be able to be collected in Sydney and parts of regional NSW by 2030.

"If we don't act to increase recycling in NSW, the volume of waste disposed of at landfill will grow with waste generation," she said.

"We know this cannot be sustained. Hard decisions have to be made now.

"If this landfill shortfall arises, waste collection and disposal services will be disrupted. This will result in an intolerable increase in the amount households pay for the collection of their red-lid kerbside bins, in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis."

The Hunter Joint Organisation, which represents 10 councils including Port Stephens, made a submission to the NSW EPA Energy from Waste Framework Review in May supporting the Tomago proposal.

"It can provide modern waste management infrastructure that could provide a solution for some forms of non-recoverable, residual waste, beyond the current life of the council-operated landfills in the region," the submission said.

"Given that the current proposals for EfW (energy from waste) at the Parkes and Goulburn Mulwaree Precincts will not replace the capacity of Sydney's existing landfills (as noted in the Options Paper), we see the addition of the Tomago Precinct as necessary to provide essential waste processing capacity for the future.

"However, the establishment of an EfW precinct at Tomago must be supported by a robust environmental assessment and planning process that ensures appropriate and effective controls are put in place to manage impacts of this site on the surrounding environment and community."

The Newcastle Herald has contacted NSW EPA and Port Stephens Council for comment.

In 2022-23, about 66 per cent of waste generated in NSW was recycled, and the remaining 7.7 million tonnes of unrecycled waste were disposed of at landfill.

Landfills servicing Greater Sydney are expected to reach capacity within the decade. Once they close, waste generated by those households will have to be taken to other landfills, mostly in regional NSW or interstate.

The cost of moving that waste is expected to hike the household fee for a red-lid bin service by 20 per cent.