A Minute With The Mayor Ramon Jayo

From the comments I receive concerning Council’s waste management practices, it appears that a great portion of the public is not aware of the current legislative arrangements in place, arrangements that Councils are obliged to follow and implement.
All Councils in Queensland are responsible for waste and must comply with the Queensland Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy. The strategy, adopted by the Queensland State Government in 2019, provides the framework for Queensland to become a zero-waste society, where waste is avoided, reused and recycled in keeping with the former State Government’s target of zero waste to landfill by 2050.
The strategy is designed to encourage more recycling and re-use of waste rather than simply dumping at landfill. Recyclable material is free to dispose of if properly sorted, whilst waste to landfill is at a cost to you – a cost that will continue to rise as a deterrent in support of changing the community’s attitude towards more recycling and re-use.
Under pinning the strategy is a Waste Levy, that all Councils must pay the State Government for waste disposed to landfill. There is no levy on recyclable material. The levy is currently $94 per tonne.
Fortunately, at this point in time the full cost of waste disposal is yet to be felt by domestic households, as the State, whilst imposing the levy, also refunds an amount attributable to the domestic component of waste. In essence, Council pays the State the levy amount, and the State then reimburses Council for the domestic component. Last financial year, Council paid the state $602,370 in levies and received $333,289 back in rebates.
There is no indication at present as to how long the State will continue to fund the rebate before rate payers have to absorb the full cost of waste disposal.
To lessen the waste levy payments, waste to landfill must be minimised. This means the community must be encouraged to recycle. Many in the community are already doing so, but sadly the majority are not.
Hinchinbrook’s recycling recovery rate stands well below the State average of 179kg, at 72kg, and this therefore necessitates a stricter form of user pay. Community members doing the right thing by recycling should not be penalised by increased community charges through general rates to offset the actions of people that do not recycle.
Council has had to review past initiatives such as the Rural Bulk Disposal Program as same does not encourage people to recycle, and the practice cannot be individually scrutinised in keeping with the intent of the strategy.
The underlying principle is that recyclable material is free to dispose of if properly sorted, whilst waste disposed direct to landfill will cost more and more. You can minimise the cost to yourself and the community by maximising the amount of waste you recycle.
For more information, please visit Council’s website at
www.hinchinbrook.qld.gov.au/water-waste-and-roads/waste-and-recycling.