QLD waste industry gets Connect online tracking system

Waste trucks transporting waste
The Queensland Government has launched new portal to help the state’s waste businesses with their day-to-day operations.

The Connect online system includes a tool to enable online tracking waste in response to demand, which was launched on 5 September.

Commenting on the new capability, Environment Minister Dr Steven Miles explained: “Those involved in the industry particularly wanted an online service to assist in tracking regulated waste. We’ve responded to these calls by including digital waste tracking in our new online Connect system.”

Dr Miles said the move to online waste tracking would make it more efficient for operators to lodge regulated waste transport data and track their operations in one easy-to-use system.

Regulated waste is commercial or industrial waste that is listed in Queensland’s Environmental Protection Regulation 2008 legislation (www.legislation.qld.gov.au/legisltn/current/e/envprotr08.pdf) and must be managed, transported and disposed of properly to prevent environmental harm or risks to community safety.

“When compliance officers are auditing a facility that receives and stores regulated waste, it will be quicker and easier to search records to establish whether the authorised and recorded deliveries tally with the amount of material the regulator is seeing on site,” Dr Miles said.

“That means that over time, the department is going to be able to redirect staff to more investigative and pro-active duties, where they will be able to pursue the operators who don’t lodge reports and don’t play by the rules,” he added.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection briefed and sought feedback from the state’s industry peak body, Waste Recycling Industry Association Queensland (WRIQ), on the initiatives and associated changes to the Environmental Protection Regulation in July.

This feedback was collated into a consultation report and used to fine-tune EHP’s processes before they were put live on 5 September.

Further details on Connect and EHP’s regulated waste management are on the EHP website.

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