Community urged to put a lid on household waste

Redlands Coast residents are being urged to rethink how they dispose of their household waste to mitigate costs to the community and improve environmental outcomes across the city.

Audits show that approximately 17 per cent of what is currently ending up in landfill from household red-lid bins could be recycled, and the main culprits are items like paper and carboard, junk-mail, tuna cans, sushi containers and meat trays.

A further 45 per cent of what ends up in landfill is made up of garden organics (30 per cent) and food waste (15 per cent).

Each resident on Redlands Coast currently generates 682 kilograms of waste and recycling each year on average – the goal is to reduce this by 15 per cent and increase the amount of materials being recycled to 60 per cent by 2030.

These targets are Queensland Government benchmarks which have been adopted in Council’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021–2030.

Reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill is a critical issue for Redland City Council, with the cost of waste management set to rise substantially over the coming years as the Queensland Government increases the statewide waste levy and reduces the rebate it currently provides to local governments.

If the amount of kerbside waste being sent to landfill continues at its current rate of increase, the $3.25 million Council currently pays for waste to be landfilled will rise to at least $5 million over the next seven years.

The cost associated with the statewide waste levy is expected to add another $6 million on top of this, bringing Council’s kerbside forecasted waste disposal bill to approximately $11 million by 2030–2031.

Redland City Mayor Jos Mitchell said if the community was to reduce their household waste it would help to mitigate these forecast cost increases.

“The community’s efforts at our waste and recycling centres to separate out their waste is to be applauded, with about 70 per cent of what is received being recycled,” she said.

“We are now reaching out to residents to ask that we start focussing on changing our habits around the use of kerbside bins.

“Council provides a suite of bins, services and initiatives to help residents reduce their waste to landfill.

“This includes green waste bins for mainland residents, green waste collection at Recycling and Waste Centres, a compost bin subsidy for home composting, and education to help people understand what goes in what bin.

“There are several ways you can reduce your waste on a daily basis, such as starting a backyard compost, getting a green waste bin, and ensuring all recyclable items from your kitchen and bathroom are placed in your yellow-lid kerbside bin.”

The Mayor said efforts to lower waste to landfill would benefit the entire community, as the costs to provide waste services were included in residential rates.

Residents can reduce their waste overnight by more than 60 per cent by doing the following three things:

Get a green waste bin or take their green waste to Council’s Recycling and Waste Centres. Mainland residents can offset the cost of a green waste bin by downsizing their 240L waste bin to a 140L waste bin at the same time as ordering.Compost their food waste at home via home composting systems. Council is currently offering a Compost Bin Subsidy program to support residents.Recycle the right items. Check out Council’s online A-Z recycling guide to find out what goes where.

For more information on how to reduce waste to landfill or to find out what goes in each bin, visit Council’s website: Waste and recycling | Redland City Council.

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.