Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has joined forces with Councils through South East Queensland to look at a regional approach to managing waste.
Earlier this year, TRC endorsed the South East Queensland Waste Management Plan, which Mayor Paul Antonio said was a step in the right direction.
“This is a Council of Mayors South East Queensland (COMSEQ) led initiative to look at ways to work together in managing, not only our waste, but all of South East Queensland’s waste,” he said.
“This COMSEQ project is an example of looking across Council boundaries to assess on a wider regional level, how we best manage this potential resource and try to minimise our ongoing impact on the environment.
In endorsing the plan, TRC Waste and Water Portfolio Leader Cr Nancy Sommerfield said the plan gave all Councils a clear path on the future direction of waste management.
“During the drafting of this document it’s been clear that each Council is unique with different needs and this plan aims to cater for this,” she said.
“Waste is a major issue for everyone and there has been significant policy at the Federal and State level in recent times that affects how waste is managed.
“The Plan also seeks to maximise opportunities associated with managing waste as a resource, with a focus on encouraging economic development and circular economy principles.
“This has cost savings to ratepayers and will ensure we play our part to limit the effects on our precious environment.”
Some of the potential initiatives discussed in the Plan include:
- Additional Material Recovery Facilities will be required by 2030
- Increased education for the community to better utilise recycling bins and minimise contamination
- Improvements in the way organics are processed
- Ensuring the residual waste stream becomes one that does not contain recyclable or reusable content
- Supporting further development of policies and outcomes that support end use of recycled materials and composts from organic waste.
The SEQ Waste Management Plan was launched by the Queensland Government and CCOMSEQ on 12 November.
