- Last updated:
- 27 Jul 2021
A garden waste service will start for Sunshine Coast residential households from July 2022.
Community feedback received in February from more than 7500 residents on the future of Sunshine Coast waste revealed overwhelming support for the service so together we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our environment.
Garden clippings, weeds and leaves will be diverted from landfill, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and potentially save property owners paying the full cost of the Queensland Government Waste Levy.
Almost 30 per cent of households already use the garden waste bin service and, with an increased number of properties participating, garden bin collection costs will come down from July 2022.
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- Garden clippings, weeds and leaves can go into the lime-green lidded garden waste bin.
- The garden waste bin will be collected fortnightly, on alternate weeks to recycling.
- Garden waste will continue to be accepted at resource recovery centres.
- Some property owners may be exempt but details are still to be determined.
- The current cost for a garden waste bin is $62.10 per year – but once the service is expanded, we expect the cost of the service to go down due to economies of scale to around $35.00 per annum, but this is still to be finalised.
- The only change for the 30 per cent of households already using this service is that the cost of the service will decrease due to more properties participating.
Frequently asked questions
Find out more on the expanded garden waste service below.
To ensure community views were considered before making any changes to its future waste collection service, Council asked residents what were their main motivations for recycling and if they would use a garden waste or a Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bin service via an online survey in February 2021.
From the feedback it is clear that recycling and protecting our environment are very important to our community.
- 74 per cent of respondent’s support Council implementing an ‘opt-out’ garden waste bin to eligible households
- 84 per cent of respondents agreed it was very important for Council to provide a service to reduce organic waste in landfill and convert recovered organic material to useful by-products
- 83 per cent of respondent’s support Council implementing a FOGO waste service.
A garden waste service is an easy and convenient way to dispose of your lawn clippings, weeds, and other garden waste.
The expanded service will reduce the amount of waste that goes into your general waste bin.
If you currently take garden waste to the resource recovery facilities, you may no longer need to make those trips, saving you money and time.
If you generate a lot of garden waste, such as grass clippings and pruning’s, you can spread it across multiple garden waste bin collections.
You are also doing your bit for the environment, helping us create a cleaner, greener Sunshine Coast.
Removing garden waste from landfill will provide a cleaner, greener future by extending landfill life, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and potentially saving property owners paying the full cost of the Queensland Government Waste Levy.
Council, and Commonwealth and State governments have established waste strategies and policies which each contain targets to divert waste from landfill.
Our target is to divert 55 per cent of household waste from landfill by 2025 – we currently divert 37 per cent.
If each household has a garden waste bin, it is forecast that our region will move to 42 per cent.
This change of five percent makes a big difference due to the cumulative effect of waste going into landfill –it will extend our landfill life and when transitioned to a FOGO service it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around one million tonnes of carbon dioxide and methane gas over the next 30 to 50 years.
This is important because it takes 30–50 years for waste to break down – so it’s not just what you put into it today, it’s the impact of the emissions generated for the next 50 or more years.
In reverse, there is a cumulative benefit. Reduce landfill waste today and we benefit for the next 30–50 years and beyond.
It’s still unclear if property owners will have to pay the Queensland Government Waste Levy after 1 July 2022.
However, if this does happen, a garden waste bin may mean households would pay less.
At the moment, the Queensland Government reimburses Council for the State Waste Levy of $85 per tonne that applies to domestic households, however there is no guarantee of that continuing past 1 July 2022, meaning households could be faced with an extra $61.88 cost for disposing their rubbish.
Introducing a garden waste service, will see more waste diverted from landfill, potentially reducing the levy costs.
The current cost for a garden waste bin is $62.10 per year – but once the service is expanded, the cost of the service will go down due to economies of scale to around $35.00 per annum.
The final pricing is still to be determined, and rate payers will be advised prior to the new charge being introduced.
Unless exempt, all household properties will receive a garden waste bin.
We have recognised that certain premises such as apartment blocks, may not have gardens or have a garden service and do not generate garden waste.
Eligible property owners can apply to opt-out of the garden waste bin and will be assessed based on meeting certain criteria.
Eligible property owners can apply to opt-out of the garden waste bin and will be assessed based on meeting certain criteria.
The exemption criteria are still being determined pending further planning by council.
Subscribe to receive an email or check back to the website in early 2022.
We are still working on this – subscribe to receive updates or please check back to this website later this year.
Please be assured that we will provide residents with plenty of advance notice and reminders before the new bin service begins, giving you plenty of time to apply to opt-out if you are eligible.
We encourage everyone to do their best to get behind the garden waste bin program and to recycle garden organics.
Those households with genuine storage issues will be encouraged to contact Council.
Further investigation is needed; however, the garden waste service can easily transition to a FOGO service in the future.
Further investigation is needed before council can move to a FOGO service. At this stage, the lime-green lidded bin is only for garden waste.
Garden clippings, weeds, leaves, garden pruning’s, flowers, small branches, and palm fronds can all go into the garden waste bin.
Please cut all materials to a size that fits in the bin and the lid will close. Leave everything loose – no plastic bags.
Keeping these items out of the garden waste bin will result in a higher quality mulch for Sunshine Coast gardens:
- general rubbish
- plastic bags
- logs, stumps, or tree limbs larger than 100mm thick
- bricks rocks or rubble
- dirt, soil, sand, or potting mix
- fruit or food scraps
- treated timber
- recyclables
- garden accessories like plant pots, gnomes, or hoses
- rope or plastic.