Have your say on Council’s draft Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan

Redlands Coast residents can now have their say on Redland City Council’s four-year plan to boost recycling and reduce local waste going to landfill.

Council will open its draft Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021-2025 for four weeks of community consultation from 27 April.

Councillors have also endorsed in principle a longer term draft waste management plan developed by the SEQ Council of Mayors to guide a regional approach to waste management, which will be launched in May.

Mayor Karen Williams said all residents had a vested interest in how Council and its local government neighbours met waste reduction and recycling targets necessitated by significant changes in the waste sector in recent years.

“Better management of our waste and the greater uptake of recycling means more than just helping our environment and progressing to a zero-waste future, it is also critical to minimise extra costs to ratepayers,” Cr Williams said.

“In July 2019 the State Government introduced a waste levy in an attempt to reduce waste being sent to landfill.

“While this levy is currently subsidised by the State Government, we are concerned this subsidy may change in the future, making the investment into improved recycling a better use of community funds.

“Council’s draft plan, developed alongside the broader draft South-East Queensland Waste Management Plan, outlines how we can all work together to better use our existing kerbside waste, recycling and green waste services as efficiently as possible.

“Through it we will work to double the number of households with a green-waste bin for garden organics, as well as halve the amount of recyclable material being placed into general waste bins.

“We also want to ensure everyone knows the importance of using the right bin and reduce the contamination in yellow-lid recycling bins that can undermine residents’ recycling efforts.

“Our aim is for 90 per cent of our community to be correctly recycling 90 per cent of their waste, 90 per cent of the time. This is what it will take to reach Queensland’s recycling target of 70 per cent by 2050, together with other industry action.”

Cr Williams said the draft plan relied on residents working with Council to reduce waste and increase recycling.

“The plan outlines a way we can collectively achieve waste reduction and recycling targets set by the Queensland Government,” she said.

“Community involvement is important to the success of the plan and achieving a collective impact on our waste management and a zero waste future for the Redlands Coast.

“Now that the consultation period has started, I encourage everyone to provide feedback on the priorities and initiatives identified in this draft plan.

“I know how passionate our community is about helping to look after our environment and keeping Redlands Coast naturally wonderful.

“So please take this opportunity to tell us what you think.”

Redland City Council’s draft Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021-2025 includes encouraging the improved use of the existing kerbside services such as:

1. doubling the number of households with a green waste bin for garden organics
2. halving the amount of recyclable material being placed into general waste bins
3. reducing contamination (non-recyclable materials) in the yellow-lid recycling
4. ensuring everyone knows the importance of using the right bin.

Currently almost two-thirds of what goes in Redlands Coast red-lid waste bins could be kept out of landfill, including more than 10,000 tonnes a year of garden organics and 6,000 tonnes of other waste which could be recycled.

Visit Council’s Your Say website https://yoursay.redland.qld.gov.au/ to read all about the draft Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021-2025 and have your say by 28 May 2021. As an added incentive, those who complete the online survey will have the chance to enter a competition draw to win one of 10 x$50 IndigiScapes vouchers (terms and conditions apply).