Let's rethink our waste
Meet our waste truck driver, Steve, and learn about his day and why reducing waste to landfill is important to help mitigate rising costs and to create a more sustainable future.
Discover ways to keep food, green waste and recyclables out of landfill on Redlands Coast as part of Council’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan:
- Top 10 reasons Why We Need to Reduce Our Waste to Landfill
- What you can do to reduce waste going to landfill
- Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021-2030
Top 10 reasons Why We Need to Reduce Our Waste to Landfill
As our city grows, so too does the pressure on our waste management systems. The rising volume of kerbside waste being sent to landfill is not only unsustainable but also increasingly costly and damaging to our environment. It’s time to take action. Here’s why reducing waste to landfill is a critical step toward a more sustainable future.
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The cost of waste disposal continues to rise. As landfills fill up, the cost of transporting and processing waste increases. We're not only paying more to manage the waste, but also facing rising fees associated with the waste levy which is set to add a further $8.6m to Council's waste bill by 2031. If we don’t reduce kerbside waste now, these costs will continue to grow, placing a financial strain on residents and council.
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South East Queensland, like many other regions, is running out of space for new landfills. Our population is growing, which means more waste is being generated, but the available land for disposal is becoming scarce. The more we continue to send waste to landfill, the more pressure we put on our limited land resources.
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As landfills become more distant, trucks and waste collection vehicles have to drive longer distances to transport waste. This leads to higher fuel consumption, more emissions, and increased traffic congestion. Council’s waste trucks make more than 5863 return trips to the landfill site each year. This amounts to 450,000 kilometres driven annually – equivalent to one truck driving around the world 11 times! Reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill can significantly reduce the number of trips needed, helping to cut both operating costs and carbon emissions.
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Due to the distance the trucks drive, tyres need replacing every three weeks. This adds up to more than 762 tyres a year. This frequent tyre replacement not only adds to operational costs but also creates more waste in the form of used tyres. Reducing the distance waste trucks travel by lowering the volume of waste sent to landfill would help decrease tyre wear, save energy, and reduce waste.
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Landfills are a major source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. As organic waste decomposes anaerobically (without oxygen) in landfills, it produces methane that contributes to climate change. By diverting more waste from landfills, we can significantly reduce CO2 emissions and take a meaningful step toward reducing our carbon footprint.
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Landfills negatively impact our local ecosystems, polluting the air, water, and land. They are often located near sensitive habitats and communities, posing risks to the environment. Additionally, the materials we throw away can take hundreds or even thousands of years to break down in landfills. For example:
- Plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to decompose
- Glass bottles can take 1 million years to break down
- Aluminium cans take about 200 years to decompose
- Food waste can take several weeks to months, but if buried in landfills, it can produce methane – a potent greenhouse gas.
Reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill means fewer toxic materials in our environment, and it helps preserve the natural beauty and biodiversity that Queensland is known for. Keeping recyclable materials like plastics, metals, and glass out of landfills allows us to reuse them and avoid the long-term environmental harm they cause when left to sit in a landfill for centuries.
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One of the most exciting aspects of reducing kerbside waste to landfill is the opportunity for resource recovery. Many of the materials we throw away—such as cardboard, plastics, metals, and paper—can be recycled, repurposed, or reused. A shift toward a circular economy, where we reuse resources instead of discarding them, means fewer raw materials are needed, and fewer items end up in landfill. This contributes to a sustainable, closed-loop system.
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Closed landfills require continuous monitoring and maintenance for years, sometimes decades, to manage leachate and prevent contamination. This ongoing burden on local councils and taxpayers can be avoided by reducing the volume of waste sent to landfill. Investing in waste reduction today can save us from costly and long-term liabilities in the future.
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A growing commitment to recycling and resource recovery creates opportunities for job growth. From sorting materials at recycling plants to creating innovative new products from recycled materials, a reduction in landfill waste can help create sustainable employment. Not only will this help the environment, but it will also bolster our local economy.
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The reality is, our current waste practices are no longer sustainable. We cannot keep relying on landfills as the primary solution to waste. As our city continues to grow, we need to shift towards more responsible and sustainable waste management practices. This means reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and embracing a future that prioritises recycling, resource recovery, and circular economy principles.
What You Can Do to Reduce Waste Going to Landfill by more than 60%
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- Get a better bin bundle today
- Request a green waste bin
- Upsize your recycling bin for just a one-off $30 fee and no additional ongoing costs
- Be rewarded for reducing your waste to landfill by downsizing from a 240L to a 140L general waste bin.
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Download the Saveful app to help you manage food waste and save money while being more mindful about your consumption.
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Up to 50% of what we send to landfill is either food waste or green waste. Get a compost bin and take advantage of the Council's compost bin subsidy to keep organic waste out of the landfill. Get a green waste bin to keep your garden waste out of landfill where it can be mulched and turned into valuable compost or soil.
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Up to 16% of what is sent to landfill could be recycled. We are getting recycling sorted with a recycling education and bin checking program. Check out Recycling on Redlands Coast to find out what goes in your recycling bin and all about the ‘Let’s get it Sorted’ education and bin checking program. Download the Recycle Mate app or check out Council’s A-Z guide to ensure you're recycling correctly and not contaminating bins.
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Ensure that all recyclable items are sorted properly by using the Recycle Mate app or Council’s A-Z guide for proper disposal. Check out Recycling on Redlands Coast to find out what goes in your recycling bin.
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- Look at the waste hierarchy and start making even more sustainable choices:
- Reduce single-use items
- Get started with Plastic Free July and commit to reducing your plastic use
- Try using cloth nappies to reduce nappies being sent to landfill
- Check out the eco markets at IndigiScapes for a range of reusable items or shop their sustainability shop
- Grow your own food to reduce packaging waste.
- Reuse and upcycle where possible
- Shop second hand – RecycleWorld has a great range of secondhand goods that have been saved from landfill.
- Repair items before throwing them away or borrow them
- Support repair cafes and tool libraries to extend the life of products and reduce waste.
- Recycle more
- Recycle more items that can’t go in your recycling bin at the Recycling Station at IndigiScapes
- Check what you can recycle at your local Recycling and Waste Centre.
The time to act is now. By reducing kerbside waste to landfill, we can protect our environment, reduce costs, and create a more sustainable future for Queensland’s growing population. Together, we can make a difference.
- Look at the waste hierarchy and start making even more sustainable choices:
Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021-2030
Council is reinforcing the importance of separating waste and recyclable materials generated by residents and understanding options to keep food and green waste out of landfill.
Council’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021-2030 [PDF 4.5MB] outlines a clear path forward on how the Redlands Coast community will move towards becoming a zero-waste society by 2050. Sustainable waste management principles underpin the plan to protect and enhance our naturally wonderful environment and the lifestyle we enjoy.
In finalising the plan, Council has considered the valuable feedback received during community consultation and responded to changes in a dynamic and evolving waste industry. Changes at regional, state and federal government levels have included:
- Council becoming a signatory to the Council of Mayors SEQ Waste Management Plan (external link)
- Reviewing Queensland Waste Levy changes (external link) from the State Government to understand what this means for our local households and waste management costs
- Publication of the Queensland Organics Strategy and Action Plan 2022-2032 (external link)
- Assessing other industry impacts at federal and state government levels, such as the National Plastics Plan and product stewardship programs such as battery recycling.
All of these changes, along with the feedback from community consultation, have allowed Council to develop a robust long-term Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan.
The plan demonstrates Council’s commitment to the 2030 waste reduction and recycling targets set by the Queensland Government, which aim to reduce the amount of waste generated by residents by 15 per cent and increase the amount of materials recycled to 60 per cent by the end of the decade.
There are four key components outlined in the Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan 2021-2030 to achieve those targets:
- Reduce recyclables, green waste and food waste lost through the red (general waste) bin
- Halve recycling contamination in the yellow bin
- Increase the number of households with a green waste bin
- Produce an organics transformation plan, building on a roadmap for growing green bins and investigating options and affordability of food waste reduction from landfill.
These themes allow Council, over the next 10 years, to focus on the largest volumes of waste, align with regional plans while pacing its actions and budget to suit meeting targets and to evaluate current performance. View the latest Recycling and Waste Strategy Progress Snapshot [PDF 0.3MB] to see how we are currently tracking against our targets.
