January 24, 2022
The Queensland Farmers’ Federation has welcomed State Government funding to help farmers and landholders with the cost of removing and safely disposing of illegally dumped waste.
Farmers can now apply for grants of up to $50,000 through the Illegal Dumping Grant Program to remove illegally dumped waste and hazardous waste from their land.
QFF CEO Dr Georgina Davis said farmers were seeing an increase in illegal dumping on their land.
“Illegally dumped waste has become notably worse for the State’s farmers with the introduction of the Waste Levy in 2019 and has not abated as the levy continues to rise,” Dr Davis said.
Illegal waste operators were maximising their profits by avoiding fees at licensed facilities and dumping elsewhere.
“This leaves farmers and other landholders to bear the cost of clean-up, any remediation where contaminants have escaped, and the disposal costs including the levy,” Dr Davis said.
She called for the establishment of a database where farmers could report incidents, and steeper penalties for businesses engaged in illegal dumping.
The Illegal Dumping Grant Program will close on February 18.
- More information is available online
