Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy

Queensland’s Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy (strategy) (PDF, 2.6 MB) , underpinned by a waste disposal levy, provides the strategic framework for Queensland to become a zero-waste society, where waste is avoided, reused and recycled to the greatest possible extent.

The strategy focuses on transitioning to the principles of a circular economy to help retain the value of material in the economy for as long as possible.

It provides the framework to help deliver coordinated, long-term and sustained growth for the recycling and resource recovery sector while reducing the amount of waste produced and ultimately disposed of, by promoting more sustainable waste management practices for business, industry and households. These practices will also contribute to achieving the environmental vision, goals and targets identified in The Queensland Plan.

A series of guiding documents have been developed that provide clear direction on priority actions, timeframes and responsibilities:

To support Queensland’s transition to a less wasteful future the Queensland Government is also progressing a number of key actions as follows:

  • Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander councils and communities to help reduce waste going to landfill, improve resource recovery and identify business, economic and employment opportunities from waste management and resource recovery activities.
  • Working with councils to raise awareness about locally-available recycling options.
  • Delivering information and education programs that support waste avoidance, repurposing, reuse, recycling, and litter and illegal dumping prevention.
  • Supporting councils to improve waste and recycling collection services and tackle problem wastes.
  • Working with businesses to reduce excessive packaging and make packaging waste recyclable.
  • Making government purchasing decisions that avoid waste and support products containing recycled materials.
  • Supporting research into new uses and markets for recycled materials.
  • Supporting the development of product stewardship schemes that contribute to the sound management of products and materials throughout their life-cycle and across the supply chain.
  • Developing material-specific action plans for identified problem wastes.
  • Supporting infrastructure investment in locations to help improve community access to recycling.

The Community Summary (PDF, 2.7 MB) provides simple actions to help Queenslanders reduce their own waste, boost recycling and reduce the impact of waste on the environment.

Waste strategy review

The Queensland Government is currently undertaking a review of the strategy according to the requirements of s20-21 of The Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011. The review covers a three-year period from 2019 to 2022 and seeks to:

  • examine progress towards achieving the strategy’s targets and any resultant outcomes
  • assess the ongoing relevance of the strategy
  • identify issues affecting implementation of the strategy and potential solutions, and
  • identify opportunities to improve the strategy and its implementation.

Consultation

The Queensland Government invited written submissions in May 2023 on the Draft Review Report – Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy (PDF, 2.1 MB) . Consultation has now closed.

Next steps

Following the close of the consultation period, the department will consider the submissions received with a view to preparing a final review report.

References

Related links