Tweed Shire ready for waste levy change in Queensland

20 March 2018

Masterplanning underway for $40 million investment in waste infrastructure

Tweed Shire Council is prepared for the proposed reintroduction of a waste levy in Queensland, and assures ratepayers the levy will not hit them in the hip pocket.

The Queensland Government has announced it will reintroduce a levy on interstate waste.

Council contractors currently transport approximately 35,000 tonnes of residual waste annually to South East Queensland from Council’s operations at Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre (representing just 3.5 per cent of one million tonnes from interstate).

Recoverable materials, including organic waste, are not sent to Queensland - only waste that is unable to be recycled. Residual waste is trucked to a state-of-the-art landfill west of Ipswich.

Council’s Director Community and Natural Resources Tracey Stinson said transporting the waste had saved Tweed valuable air space and delayed the significant cost to expand the Stotts Creek site over this time.

“There are also environmental benefits for us transporting residual waste to a state-of-the-art waste management centre which has landfill gas capture and energy recovery on the site,” Ms Stinson said.

"We take waste management seriously and strongly encourage the less to landfill message by recycling as much waste as possible before sending only the residual waste to landfill.

“Thanks to the fantastic support from our community – who have really embraced our new third green bin - Tweed is now diverting 62 per cent of our domestic waste away from landfill, up from 40 per cent six months ago.

“Council is ready to make the changes needed as a result of the Queensland levy and can begin accepting waste at Stotts Creek again when required.

“We have at least two years’ worth of air space at our facility which could be extended even further the more successful our community is at reducing our waste.

“Our $40 million Masterplan for Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre will provide the necessary approvals and new infrastructure (including a green waste composting facility) for Tweed to completely manage our waste in the most sustainable way for at least the next 50 years,” she said.