Campaign to boost recycling rates on Redlands Coast

Redland City Council has joined a statewide recycling campaign designed to curb the amount of household waste ending up at landfill sites.

The ‘Let’s get it sorted’ campaign is a Queensland Government-led initiative that Council has adopted to assist with meeting the goals set out in the Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021–2030.

Mayor Jos Mitchell said the campaign was being rolled out to help further educate the community on what to do with their waste and recyclable materials.

“Every resident on Redlands Coast can play a role in reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfill, and the key to this is improving your household recycling habits,” the Mayor said.

“Council has adopted the Queensland Government’s waste reduction targets in the Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan, so this campaign ties in with what we are trying to achieve city-wide.

“The goal is to reduce waste by 15 per cent and increase the amount of materials being recycled to 60 per cent by 2030, which will put us on the path to becoming a waste-free society by 2050.

“But this will take buy-in from every resident across the city and a commitment to ensuring the right items are being placed in the right bin.

“We have made some progress on reducing waste to landfill in recent years, but we still have work to do in this space, and the ‘Let’s get it sorted’ campaign is designed to help the community and Council reach our targets.

“We also need to work together to reduce the amount of non-recyclable items contaminating yellow-lid recycling bins going forward, as this remains an issue on Redlands Coast.

“Audits show that approximately 17 per cent of what is sent to landfill could be recycled and approximately 15 per cent of what ends up in yellow-lid recycling bins shouldn’t be there.”

The Mayor said reducing the amount of waste being generated across the city would help with mitigating impacts to Council’s bottom line at a time of rising costs.

“The costs of waste management are now increasing significantly and this will continue over the coming years as the Queensland Government reduces the waste levy rebate to councils as a means of encouraging residents to recycle and reduce waste to landfill,” she said.

“At the same time the waste disposal levy is increasing statewide, and these factors combined are expected to add $10 million to the city’s waste bill by 2030-31 unless households commit to reducing waste.

“There has never been a more important time to ensure you are recycling as much as you can and recycling correctly, which are key messages of the ‘Let’s get it sorted’ campaign.

“Other actions residents can take as part of the campaign include only putting loose, unbagged recyclables into a yellow lid bin and keeping a dedicated basket for recyclables in the kitchen.”

Adopting proper recycling habits will also improve environmental outcomes on Redlands Coast.

“With your help, we can create a sustainable waste future for our city and our region which will support jobs and the circular economy,” the Mayor said.

The campaign, which is part of the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation’s Education and Behaviour Change Initiative, is being rolled out on Redlands Coast from this month.

Redland City Council is one of 33 Local Government Areas across Queensland involved in the campaign.

It follows a successful trial in 2023 which achieved positive outcomes for the community.

For more information about the State Government ‘Let’s get it sorted’ campaign, visit Recycling Qld – let’s get it sorted | Environment, land and water | Queensland Government (www.qld.gov.au).

Redland City Council provides a suite of services to 166,873 residents and more than 63,000 residential households across Redlands Coast. Our naturally wonderful city on Quandamooka Country is home to more than 335 kilometres of coastline, six island communities and 12 mainland suburbs.