The Queensland government has launched a new strategy to reduce rubbish and boost recycling. Waste sent to landfill has increased growing from 1.7 million tonnes in 2015 to nearly 2 million tonnes today – while recycling rates have gone backwards.
The landfill rates are putting more pressure on local governments and, 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 said in a recently released statement.
The Government’s new Waste Strategy focuses on reducing waste sent to landfill by identifying recycling and manufacturing opportunities. The plan also includes a new $130 million Resource Recovery Boost fund to support Councils develop initiatives and infrastructure to divert waste from household red bins to green and yellow bins.
The fund will deliver grants to assist councils to build critical waste infrastructure, divert waste from landfill and increase recycling.
The Government 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.
“We are delivering a plan that will see less waste going to landfill, more recycling and a better environment for Queensland,” said Minister for the Environment Andrew Powell. “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,” 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 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.”
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.