Waste goes to work

Waste goes to work to reduce landfill

Logan City Council has a new 10-year strategy to divert rubbish from landfill while harnessing economic opportunities from recycled waste.

The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy 2022-2032 comes as the city’s population surges towards half a million people.

The strategy identifies four areas in the battle to reduce landfill and increase recycling:

• Waste avoidance and recovery of resources
• Community education and participation
• Resource recovery infrastructure operation and planning
• Circular economy and economic opportunity.

Environment Chair, Councillor Jon Raven said the new strategy was a step forward for the city.

“This is a clear plan of how Council can keep rubbish out of landfill,” he said.

“Doing this is great for the environment and benefits our city’s economy.”

Council aims to stimulate the demand for recycled materials and increase jobs in the sector.

A ‘circular economy’ aims to keep materials out of landfill, allowing more value to be drawn from them.

“Waste has become be a valuable resource because of our focus on recycling,” Cr Raven said.

Continuing educational programs will teach children and older residents how they can play their part in avoiding and reducing waste through composting and the correct use of green waste and recycling bins.

The strategy aligns with Queensland Government requirements.

The state has set a target of a 25 per cent reduction in household waste per capita by 2050.

Council currently handles more than 225,000 tonnes of waste per year and recycles more than 48,000 tonnes.

Under the previous plan, from 2017-2021, Council implemented an opt-in green bin service and improved the organisation’s recycling practices.

It also established e-waste and paint recycling at Council’s waste transfer stations and delivered education programs to the community, with a focus on school kids.

Council continues its joint investigation with Ipswich and Redlands councils to build a regional Material Recovery Facility at Browns Plains.

The proposed facility could handle up to 60,000 tonnes of recycling annually.

Council allocated $9 million towards the project in its ‘Building on today for a brighter tomorrow’ budget in June.

The budget includes funding for a new mattress recycling process which will extract up to 10kg of steel, shredded fabric and foam, depending on mattress type and size.