The Queensland Government has today launched a new strategy to reduce rubbish and boost recycling, which includes a new $130 million Resource Recovery Boost fund to support Councils to develop initiatives and infrastructure to divert waste from household red bins to green and yellow bins.
In a statement, the Government said skyrocketing landfill rates were putting more pressure on local governments.
“If they continue to grow at the current rate, will begin to encroach on potential greenfield housing development sites in some of the State’s fastest growing regions,” the Government stated.
The new fund will deliver grants to assist Councils to build critical waste infrastructure, divert waste from landfill and increase recycling.
The Government announced it will also review the current waste levy arrangements, considering the potential impacts from NSW levy rates and cross-border waste movements, the influence of payments to local governments on achieving waste targets and look at excluded, exempt and discounted waste types.
Increases or decreases to the Containers for Change 10-cent refund have been ruled out, with the Government instead focusing on ways to divert more landfill into recycling.
Minister for the Environment, Andrew Powell said the Government was cleaning up a decade of Labor’s mess on waste.
“We are delivering a plan that will see less waste going to landfill, more recycling and a better environment for Queensland,” Minister Powell said.
“We have watched as Labor has allowed landfill rates to skyrocket, recycling to go backwards and Queenslanders to pay more.
“As we review the Waste Strategy, we will also review the waste levy because we know levy funds have not been invested where they need to be, and we will get to the bottom of it during this process.
“The Government will continue to listen and consult with local councils to ensure we can all achieve less landfill and more recycling across our communities.
“The new Waste Strategy will focus on creating new industries that will boost the number of jobs in the waste sector in Queensland.”
Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia CEO, Gayle Sloan welcomed the plan for a new Queensland Waste Strategy.
“Queensland needs to divert two million tonnes of material from landfill over the next five years, which creates huge investment and job creation opportunities throughout all of Queensland, if we get the policy and economic settings right,” Ms Sloan said.
“The waste and resource recovery industry looks forward to working with the Government on getting these settings right, to enable investment in resource recovery, create end markets and keep Queensland’s valuable resources in circulation longer, reducing reliance on new materials and mitigating carbon impacts.”
CEO of the Waste and Recycling Industry of Queensland, Alison Price, said it was a great time to reset Queensland’s waste recycling targets.
“The waste industry is up to the task to recycle more materials in Queensland,” said Ms Price.
“We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the Queensland Government to co-design what the future of waste management looks like in this state.
“We are a thriving sector with endless opportunities for Queensland and with the Government finally open to working with us I am confident we can make Queensland one of the best performing states in the country.”
While the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) welcomed today’s announcement, it said some Councils will be dismayed to hear they may be caught short on waste levy payments.
“The Queensland Government today announced it will not provide a 100% advance waste levy payment to councils for the 2025-26 year,” the LGAQ said in a statement.
“Councils will instead need to consider whether to reduce services to ratepayers – or to pass on the waste levy funding gap to residents via increased rates.”
The Association says waste costs are a significant issue for councils and ratepayers, highlighted by 14 resolutions relating to the waste levy being passed at LGAQ Annual Conferences since 2019.
“Queensland’s waste levy arrangements came into effect in 2019 and councils were promised their communities and households would not have to pay more as a result,” said LGAQ chief executive officer, Alison Smith.
“Unfortunately today’s decision creates a new challenge. Councils want to partner with both State and Federal governments to create a long term, sustainable and circular economy in which Queenslanders can reduce what goes into their household bins because they’re given other options – better recycling options, specific services to get rid of food and garden organic waste, and easier ways to reduce landfill.
“But this takes time and money to achieve. The $130 million is a welcome start to help set up councils, but is less than half of the funding that Queensland’s Regional Organisations of Councils are projecting is required to deliver regional waste management plans over the next four years.”
Meanwhile, the LGAQ has thanked the Government for releasing a discussion paper to review the Queensland Waste Management Strategy.
LGAQ President Mayor, Matt Burnett said Councils across Queensland have prepared detailed regional waste management plans which show the current landfill reduction targets are unworkable.
“We look forward to this eight-week consultation process helping to identify where new solutions are needed, together with appropriate future funding, to enable communities to better access recycling and waste management options,” President Burnett said.
“The LGAQ will work closely with councils to capture critical concerns and ensure the best opportunities are put forward, to give our state its best chance to be set up for a successful circular economy,” he said.
Public consultation has opened for eight weeks to feed into a new Queensland Waste Strategy.
The schedule of annual payments to Local Governments will continue in line with the Waste and Recycling Act.
To participate in public consultation on the draft new Queensland Waste Strategy visit this link: www.detsi.qld.gov.au/draft-waste-strategy.
