2020-11-10 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                              10 NOVEMBER 2020


Noosa Council also concurrently participated in a waste feasibility study with the WBBROC
Regional Councils to our north (Councils from Gympie to Bundaberg). This region produces a
lower volume of waste compared to joining with local governments south of Noosa and no
compelling options were identified during the process. The WBBROC councils have resolved to
take no further action to pursue regional advanced waste treatment at this time.
The report also examines activity undertaken by individual councils seeking to provide a local
solution to divert waste from their landfills and options that might become available to Noosa
Council to send waste to those proposed treatment facilities.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Manager Waste and Environmental Health to the Services &
Organisation Committee Meeting dated 10 November 2020 and agree to:
A.    Write to Unitywater thanking them for administering the regional waste feasibility study;
B.    Include consideration of regional advanced waste treatment opportunities in the
      upcoming waste strategy being developed for Noosa Council; and
C.    Continue to work with local governments and agencies in the region to explore the
      feasibility of regional advanced waste treatment solutions.


REPORT
The purpose of this report is to inform Council about investigations undertaken by partnerships
involving Noosa Council into the feasibility of implementing advanced waste treatment at a
regional level, to improve the diversion of waste from landfill.

1.    Background
Diverting waste from landfill and treatment of diverted waste is expensive requiring significant
capital expenditure on infrastructure and ongoing operational and maintenance costs. To
economically implement advanced waste treatment technology requires a large volume of waste
sourced at a regional level. Waste treatment can be implemented by individual local governments
with lower volumes of waste but this tends to result in higher treatment costs per tonne.
Regional waste diversion solutions are being encouraged by State Government and are a focus
for government subsidy in preference to local treatment solutions. The State Government
Commercial Waste Levy implemented from 1 July 2019 at $70 per tonne will increase to $75 per
tonne from 1 January 2021 and rise to $90 per tonne from 1 July 2023. This levy provides a
financial deterrent to landfilling of solid waste and a revenue stream for State Government to
support improvements in waste management, the development of improved treatment technology
and the re-use of waste as a resource.
The State Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy for Queensland seeks to
progressively maximize waste diversion from landfill to 90% by 2050. Local Government and
private landfill operators are expected to help meet the revised waste diversion targets for
Queensland. These targets will only be achieved through substantial expansion and
improvements to kerbside collection services, advanced treatment of collected waste streams to
reduce volumes sent to landfill and creation of a circular economy to facilitate the reuse of treated
waste as a resource.
The current waste recycling and diversion activity undertaken by Noosa Council to date will not
achieve the stated waste diversion targets without a substantial change to our waste
management practices. The waste diversion targets for Queensland are detailed in Table 1
below. The Baseline Diversion (2018) shows that overall Queensland was diverting 45.4% of
total waste tonnage generated in Queensland in 2018. For comparison, Noosa Council diverted
42.06% of total waste received for the 2018/19 financial period. Proposed waste diversion rates


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