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Click here to find out moreUnder the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 (the Act), sites with weighbridges are required to use the weighbridge for movements of waste or other material in and out of the waste disposal site, and for internal movements between different areas within the waste disposal site, such as between a resource recovery area (RRA) and a levyable waste disposal (LWD) part of the site.
From 1 July 2019, operators of levyable waste disposal sites are required to measure waste that enters the site and correctly remit the waste levy to the State. All levyable waste disposal sites in the levy zone need to install a weighbridge. This includes commercial and industrial waste produced by business and commerce and includes waste from schools, restaurants, offices, retail and wholesale businesses, and manufacturing industries.
In the Hinchinbrook Shire the Warrens Hill Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre operates a weighbridge where commercial businesses can dispose their waste. Please note that Halifax Resource Recovery Centre does not accept any quantity of commercial waste.
Since 1 January 2023, commercial customers get charged at the below rates depending on whether the waste load in question is co-mingled with recyclables.
The key drivers for this approach can be mainly attributed towards the cost of landfilling and the Shire’s diminishing available landfill space. A summary of these implications is presented as follows:
Queensland Waste Levy
As of 1 July 2019, the Queensland Government introduced the Waste Levy (payable by Council to the Government), applicable to all waste being placed in landfill. The purpose behind the levy is to encourage recycling and resource recovery by penalising landfilling. The rate that has been presented by the Queensland Government for the 2023-2024 financial year is $91.00 per Tonne and will increase in rate with the CPI increase every 1 July for regional areas. Council must recover these charges by adding it to the fees associated with landfilling.
Available Landfill Space
Hinchinbrook Shire only has one operating landfill, located within the Warrens Hill Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre. According to recent modelling, the landfill will be full by 2035 if current consumption rates continue. If resource recovery efforts were to improve, this lifespan could be extended.
To support this, Council is introducing the approach of charging higher fees for unsorted commercial waste streams.
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