A 10-year plan will focus on diverting the city’s rubbish from landfill, and ways to make money from recycled waste.
Logan City Council has developed the plan, to look at four areas:
• Waste avoidance and recovery of resources
• Community education and participation
• Resource recovery infrastructure operation and planning
• Circular economy and economic opportunity.
Councillor Jon Raven who heads up the city’s environment charge, said the new strategy was a step forward for the city.
“This is a clear plan of how council can keep rubbish out of landfill,” he said.
“Doing this is great for the environment and benefits our city’s economy.”
Council aims to stimulate the demand for recycled materials and increase jobs in the sector.
A ‘circular economy’ aims to keep materials out of landfill, allowing more value to be drawn from them.
“Waste has become be a valuable resource because of our focus on recycling,” Cr Raven said.
Continuing educational programs will teach children and older residents how they can play their part in avoiding and reducing waste through composting and the correct use of green waste and recycling bins.
The strategy aligns with Queensland Government requirements.
The state has set a target of a 25% reduction in household waste per capita by 2050.
Council currently handles more than 225,000 tonnes of waste per year and recycles more than 48,000 tonnes.
Under the previous plan, from 2017-2021, Council implemented an opt-in green bin service and improved the organisation’s recycling practices.
It also established e-waste and paint recycling at Council’s waste transfer stations and delivered education programs to the community, with a focus on school kids.
Council continues its joint investigation with Ipswich and Redlands councils to build a regional Material Recovery Facility at Browns Plains.
The proposed facility could handle up to 60,000 tonnes of recycling annually.
Council allocated $9 million towards the project in its latest budget.
The budget includes funding for a new mattress recycling process which will extract up to 10kg of steel, shredded fabric and foam, depending on mattress type and size.
