The Queensland Government is undertaking waste audits to find out how much recyclable product still ends up in the state’s general waste bins.
The research is being done at council landfill sites, which Queensland Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles said will eventually help with work towards the introduction of a state-based container deposit scheme (CDS).
“We will be working with councils to specially unload some of the garbage trucks before they get to their tips, in order to get a better understanding of what is in the trucks, and the composition of general waste,” said Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles.
Cooktown, Cairns, Central Highlands, Rockhampton, Gold Coast, Western Downs and Townsville are among the councils participating in the research project.
Dr Miles said waste industry consultants – who had conducted similar research with other jurisdictions including Sydney City Council – had been engaged to undertake the audits, which start in Queensland this week.
“Researchers will use the data to calculate how much aluminium and glass, for example, Queensland could be recycling but currently isn’t,’’ added Dr Miles.
The Queensland Government has established an advisory group to help in better understanding the issues and design of a scheme, and the information from these audits will help inform discussions on the CDS for the state.
“The Palaszczuk Government is also closely watching the CDS discussions in NSW, where the Government has committed to introducing a CDS by 2017,” Dr Miles added.
“If the Queensland Government does decide to introduce a container deposit scheme, it would be desirable that the two schemes are consistent in their key design elements,’ he said.