State waste levy will mean changes for Council facilities

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Fraser Coast Regional Council will make a range of changes at local waste facilities as a result of the introduction of the Queensland Government’s waste levy on 1 July this year.

Cr Anne Maddern said Council was responsible for the collection and payment of the new waste levy to the State Government.

“To meet the requirements of the Queensland Government’s new levy, our staff will need to do additional sorting, loading, relocating, weighing and monitoring of materials going to landfill, and Council will need to recoup these costs,” she said.

“For example, when residents had 75 per cent recyclable material in their loads, Council has previously allowed the disposal of the remaining 25 per cent of general waste at no charge. 

“However, to ensure waste fees and charges are applied consistently across all of Council’s sites and are in line with the intent of the waste levy, this rule will no longer apply and the $9.50 minimum charge for general waste going to landfill will be replaced with a $5 minimum charge.

“Council has also upgraded our waste management point of sale system to ensure compliance with the new waste levy and those changes go live from today.

“The new levy will have no direct impact on households, as Council will receive an annual advance payment from the State Government to reimburse us for these costs.

“However, the waste levy will add about $420,000 a year to the cost of disposing of kerbside waste collected from almost 2000 commercial properties across the Fraser Coast, and Council will need to add the levy to existing commercial charges to recoup these costs.

“The Queensland waste levy will also be applied to all commercial and industrial waste taken to landfill by private and commercial operators, with new fees and charges to be adopted as part of Council’s Budget on 24 June.”

Cr Maddern said as a result of the new state levy, commercial waste going to landfill would only be accepted at the Maryborough and Nikenbah waste facilities. 

“Commercial customers should allow time to weigh on and weigh off when disposing of non-recyclable waste,” she said.

“We encourage commercial customers to set up credit accounts with Council to speed up transaction times at both the Maryborough and Nikenbah waste facilities.”

Cr Maddern said Fraser Coast residents and businesses were encouraged to reduce their levy liability by taking the time to sort their waste between recyclables and general waste.

“Recycling is good for the environment, good for the economy and good for the local community,” she said.

More information about the waste levy is available here