New Waste Charges Start July 1

Businesses will be charged $75 per tonne to dispose of their waste from July 1 as part of the State Government’s Waste Levy (Photo: SBRC)

South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell (Photo: SBRC)

June 4, 2019

Businesses will be charged $75 per tonne for waste disposal at South Burnett Regional Council tips from July 1 this year as part of the State Government’s Waste Levy scheme.

The waste levy fee will increase by $5 per tonne every July for the next five years, to $100 per tonne by July 1, 2024.

While households will not have to pay any extra costs for their kerbside collection service, the Waste Levy will apply to the disposal of construction, demolition, commercial, agricultural and contaminated land waste from next month.

Waste items that will incur the levy include:

Commercial waste from food outlets, restaurants or service stations

Non-recyclable waste stored in skip bins used at building sites

General rubbish from industrial sites

Waste generated from agricultural activities such as drip tape irrigation

The Council will charge the fee at its Kingaroy, Nanango, Wondai and Murgon waste disposal facilities.

Regional waste transfer stations at Blackbutt, Brigooda, the Bunya Mountains, Chahpingah, Cloyna, Durong, Hivesville, Home Creek, Kumbia, Maidenwell, Memerambi, Proston and Wattle Camp, can only accept household waste such as food scraps and general rubbish.

Commercial waste is not permitted at these waste transfer stations.

Residents wanting to dispose of bulky items such as furniture, mattresses, and concrete or other non-household items will need to take them to either the Kingaroy, Murgon, Nanango or Wondai waste facilities.

The State Government is advising businesses to prepare for the Waste Levy by advising customers about any price increases they need to charge to cover the new fees.

Businesses are also being encouraged to separate and recycle as much as they can.

Recycling items do not incur the levy but recyclables need to be separated from other waste to avoid disposal fees.

On Tuesday, Mayor Keith Campbell said he wanted to emphasise it was the State Government which had set the Waste Levy fee, and councils were obliged to collect it.

He also warned that residents who tried to avoid the fee by illegal dumping risk being fined, with penalties ranging from $261 (for general littering) up to $130,550 for people dumping more than 2500 litres of waste (about 12 wheelie bins worth).

Penalties for companies caught illegally dumping waste are four to five times higher.

Related articles: