The Queensland government has launched an new 10-year waste plan backed by close to AU$1 billion in funding to reduce landfill and boost recycling.
The new Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035: Queensland Waste Strategy attempts to reverse a decade of decline that has left Queensland lagging behind almost every other state in recycling performance.
The government has commited AU$975 million over the next five years to build local industrial capacity, overhaul household sorting, and transition the state toward a high-functioning circular economy.
The policy shift establishes a hard statewide recycling target of 65 per cent by 2035. The strategy ditches previous one-size-fits-all approaches to account for Queensland’s decentralised geography, setting distinct targets for both South East Queensland and regional communities.
“Queensland has fallen behind the rest of the country when it comes to recycling, and we are getting on with the job of turning that around,” Environment Minister Andrew Powell said.
“This strategy is about doing what we said we would do – reducing landfill, increasing recycling and investing in the infrastructure Queensland needs for the future.”
Financing for the plan splits cleanly into structural support and grassroots infrastructure upgrades. The government has earmarked AU$488 million to head directly to local councils, offsetting the mounting costs of the household waste levy.
The remaining AU$487 million feeds into the Waste Reduction and Recycling Activation Fund.
The opening round of this fund includes nearly AU$60 million split across the Resource Recovery Boost Fund and the GROW FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) scheme.
This initial capital injection will drive 26 council-led infrastructure upgrades, ranging from sorting-facility modernization to the widespread distribution of larger household recycling bins.
Furthermore, a AU$3.8 million expansion of green-lidded organic waste bins across Brisbane, Gladstone, and the Sunshine Coast is tipped to divert over 100,000 tonnes of organic waste from tip sites annually.
Combined, these initial resource-recovery projects are projected to save Queensland councils more than AU$30 million every year in avoided waste levy fee costs.
