2018-06-27 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                                                 27 JUNE 2018



2                        NOOSA COUNCIL'S RESPONSE TO QUEENSLAND'S DIRECTION PAPER ON WASTE
DOCUMENT INFORM AT ION




Author                              Director Community Services, Alan Rogers
                                    Community Services Department

Index                               ECM/ Subject/ Waste Management/ Waste Levy

Attachments                         1.   Transforming Queensland’s Recycling and Waste Industry -
                                         Directions Paper (Note – 46 pg attachment provided separately to this report)
                                    2.   Noosa Council’s proposed submission



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Queensland Government has invited submissions on its Transforming Queensland’s
Recycling and Waste Industry - Directions Paper.

The Discussion Paper was released recently in response to the crisis caused by the China
National Sword Policy and the cross border disposal of waste into Queensland from NSW. The
document is broken up into two parts which discuss:
1.   The introduction of a $70 per tonne Waste Disposal Levy from January 2019; and
2.   The development of a new resource recovery, recycling and waste management strategy
     for Queensland.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Director Community Services to the Special Meeting dated 26
June 2018 and:
A.                       Provide in principle support to the Queensland Government’s plan to introduce a landfill
                         levy from January 2019 and the development of a new resource recovery, recycling and
                         waste management strategy for Queensland; and
B.                       Agree to the submission of Noosa Council’s response to the Directions Paper (provided at
                         Attachment 2 to the report) and authorise the CEO to make any minor amendments to that
                         submission.


REPORT
1.                       Background

In 2018 Queensland’s waste industry has faced several major challenges:
                       The ABC Four Corners report on the Waste Industry revealed the full extent of waste being
                         brought from NSW into Queensland due to the cheaper cost of disposal.
                       The ABC’s ‘War on Waste’ program revealed the extent of glass stockpiling occurring
                         across the country as a result of a limited reuse market for recycled glass.
                       The Chinese Government introduced tighter controls on the quality of recycled product that
                         would be accepted across their borders. This has seriously impacted the market for
                         Australia’s recycled products, in particular plastics and paper. The consequence of this for
                         Noosa Council is that the cost of sending comingled recyclables for processing has jumped
                         from $10 to $60 per tonne. The cost in other jurisdictions has been considerable more, with
                         Ipswich Council controversially taking the step of publically stating that it would send
                         recyclables to landfill rather than pay the higher costs.

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