Redland City Council has urged residents to be more mindful of what they are placing in their bins in an effort to reduce the council's rising waste management bill.
According to the council, poor waste and recycling habits have contributed to a $3.6 million rise in waste management costs over the past two years.
Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams said placing waste materials in the wrong bin is environmentally irresponsible and costing ratepayers significant amounts of money.
"Based on recent waste audits, almost 37% of what we collect from household waste bins is green waste which could easily be recycled through Council's garden organics 'green bin' collection service or at the recycling and waste centres," she said.
The reminder comes as the Queensland Government is set to reduce the Waste Levy Rebate over the coming years.
The Waste Levy Rebate was introduced by the State Government in 2019 and is designed to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by delivering annual payments to councils to offset the direct costs of the waste levy.
Cr Williams said that with the rebate reduction coming into effect, it is now more important than ever that residents correctly dispose of their waste in the right bin.
"The cost of waste management is set to increase with the State waste rebate to start decreasing from July 1, 2023. By 2030/31 it will reduce to 20% which will add more than $10 million in waste levy costs unless households commit to reducing waste to landfill."
To reduce waste, residents are being urged to get a green waste bin, recycle the right items and compost their food waste at home.
