new Waste Levy when it is introduced in March next year
Leanne Enoch
August 31, 2018
The South Burnett, Gympie and Toowoomba Regional Councils will get some financial assistance to help prepare for Queensland’s new waste levy … providing they apply for it.
On Friday, the State Government announced it will make $5 million available to help 38 councils impacted by the levy to get ‘levy ready’ before the scheme comes into force on March 4, 2019.
Councils can apply for funding under the 2018-19 Local Government Levy Ready Grant Program, which supports infrastructure improvements at waste disposal facilities.
Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said grant funding could be used for fencing, security cameras, upgrading IT and signage.
Councils with larger waste disposal facilities which process more than 5,000 tonnes of waste per year can also apply for funding for weighbridges and gatehouses.
The grant program is being administered by the Department of Local Government on behalf of the Department of Environment and Science.
Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the amount of waste generated in Queensland was increasing faster than the population was growing.
“Reintroducing a waste disposal levy is part of our broader strategy to improve waste recycling and recovery,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“Our local councils will play a key role in helping their communities reduce waste and increase resource recovery, and that’s why we’re doing all we can to help councils get ready.”
Ms Enoch said Queensland’s new waste disposal levy would also lead to the creation of jobs, particularly in regional areas.
“This will provide a growing incentive for the community and business to take advantage of expanding resource recovery and recycling options across the state,” she said.
“The levy will also bring Queensland into line with New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia, which have similar levies.
“When Queensland introduced a waste levy in 2011, resource recovery companies invested in new recycling and processing infrastructure to process material diverted from landfill.
“This helped to create new employment and market development opportunities for the sector.
“But when that levy was repealed, landfill disposal increased as New South Wales waste was shipped across the border and recycling remained flat.”
The 2018-19 Local Government Levy Ready Grant Program will be open for applications between August 31 and October 12.
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