The State Government’s new $75 per tonne general waste levy will come into force on July 1 after a new law was passed in State Parliament on Thursday.
The Waste Reduction and Recycling (Waste Levy) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 reintroduces a waste disposal levy for Queensland that was axed by the former LNP Government.
The levy will introduce a $75 per tonne fee for general waste, a $155 per tonne fee for Category 1 regulated waste and $105 per tonne fee for Category 2 regulated waste.
Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the levy put Queensland a step closer to transitioning to a zero waste future.
“Since the former LNP government repealed Queensland’s waste levy in 2012, we have been the only mainland state in Australia without a levy.
“That has made Queensland a cheap place to dump interstate waste, and since 2012 more than 3.7 million tonnes of waste have been trucked across the border into Queensland.
“On top of that, Queensland has one of the lowest recycling rates in the country.”
Ms Enoch said the new law would allow Queensland to improve waste management, stop interstate waste dumping, increase investment in the recycling industry and create more jobs while protecting the environment.
“The Government is also standing by our commitment that Queenslanders will not have to pay more to take out their wheelie bin every week,” Ms Enoch said.
“We are providing advance payments to councils over and above the rate of household waste that goes to landfill to ensure the costs are not passed onto ratepayers.
“There is no doubt we need to do better. At the moment, we are generating more waste than we are growing in population and we are also recycling only 45 per cent of the waste we generate.
“This needs to change.”
Ms Enoch said the waste levy will only be paid on waste that is disposed of in landfills.
She believed this will provide a valuable incentive to reduce, reuse and recycle waste as much as possible.
Ms Enoch said 70 per cent of revenue raised from the waste levy will go back to councils, the waste industry, scheme start-up, and environmental programs.
The balance will be used for compliance work to reduce the risk of litter and illegal dumping, a school-based education program to help children learn about recycling, a regional recycling transport assistance program, and support for the construction industry.
“This is unprecedented in Australia,” she said.
“No other state or territory reinvests that much from their waste levies.”
The levy is expected to increase over time as waste levels reduce.
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