Nadun is shaping future landfill rehabilitation in Bundaberg
CQUniversity PhD candidate Nadun Bulathge is bringing research to life on the ground thanks to the University’s first Enrich Scholarship, which connects academic expertise with real-world industry challenges.
Awarded earlier this year, the scholarship enabled Nadun to complete an intensive 60-day placement with Bundaberg Regional Council’s Waste and Recycling team, embedding his doctoral research directly into landfill operations and decision-making processes.
Nadun said the hands-on experience was critical to ensuring his research delivers meaningful, real-world outcomes.
“Getting to know the day-to-day operational context is essential for truly impactful research. You can’t model what you haven’t stood on,” he said.
His PhD investigates the use of vegetated landfill covers, known as phytocaps, as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional engineered caps. His research focuses on high-resolution modelling to better predict water movement through these systems, helping regional councils design more effective landfill rehabilitation strategies.
During the placement, Nadun worked across multiple waste management facilities in the Bundaberg region, gaining insight into landfill operations, environmental monitoring and regulatory requirements.
“The experience was genuinely immersive,” he said.
“From riding kerbside collection runs to inspecting landfill gas systems, I was able to see how the entire system operates in practice.”
As part of the placement, Nadun delivered a series of reports to Council and developed a detailed instrumentation plan for a proposed phytocap trial at the Cedars Road landfill. This work could be implemented in future site developments.
“The quiet moment of completing the Cedars Road instrumentation plan, knowing that something I’d designed would actually be installed and used, was incredibly rewarding,” he said.
The placement also supported a significant milestone in his PhD, including the development of a HYDRUS-1D model using nearly one million data points collected from landfill sensors to simulate water and heat movement through soil.
Nadun said the experience reinforced the importance of integrating academic expertise with industry knowledge.
“Academic training builds depth of method, but industry exposure builds depth of context and impactful research needs both,” he said.
“I learned things on site that no journal article could teach, including how operators interpret data, what decisions councils actually face, and the constraints that shape what ‘good’ looks like in practice.”
CQUniversity Dean of Graduate Research Professor Susan Kinnear said the Enrich Scholarship reflects the University’s commitment to delivering research that makes a difference.
“The Enrich Scholarship is designed to ensure our research candidates are working alongside industry to address the challenges and opportunities that matter to them,” Professor Kinnear said.
“Experiences like this allow our candidates to apply their expertise in complex, real-world settings while building professional skills and networks to support their future careers, so it is Enrich by name and by nature.
“Importantly, it also strengthens partnerships with industry and helps ensure CQUniversity research delivers tangible outcomes for regional communities.”
Bundaberg Regional Council Waste and Recycling Services Branch Manager Kerry Dalton said the collaboration was a great experience which highlighted the value of embedding researchers within operational teams.
As a landfill operations and compliance professional with more than 16 years’ experience in the Waste and Recycling industry Kerry said the outcomes of the research were exciting.
“Nadun’s research into phytocaps has the potential to provide valuable long-term data on capping system performance, improving our understanding of environmental outcomes and supporting better-informed landfill rehabilitation and closure decisions,” Kerry said.
“The proposed monitoring and instrumentation program will strengthen our ability to collect and analyse data over time, helping us optimise operational systems and make evidence-based decisions into the future.”
She said it had been a pleasure to work with CQUniversity and Nadun.
“He quickly became part of the team, embraced every opportunity to learn about our operations and built strong relationships across the business.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with CQUniversity and seeing the benefits of this research realised in practice.”
Nadun said the Enrich Scholarship removed financial barriers and made the placement possible.
“Without Enrich, this kind of deep, sustained industry engagement simply is not feasible for most PhD candidates,” he said.
The experience also included community engagement, such as supporting a school tour to help local students understand landfill processes.
“This is the CQUniversity approach, putting researchers inside industry so research grows out of real-world practice and flows back to the community as genuine impact,” he said.
