Queensland household waste surges as more residents work from home

Queensland is churning out household waste at an alarming rate, and there’s a clear reason behind the new trend.

The increasing number of Queenslanders turning to food delivery services and working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic has been blamed for the rising rates of household rubbish.

New figures released by the Environment Department have revealed there was 1.42 million tonnes of rubbish dumped in council red-top bins last financial year – up 4.4 per cent per capita from the year before.

Across the state, there was 9.26 million tonnes of waste generated in the municipal, commercial and industrial, and construction and demolition sectors in 2021-22.

The state government has a target to divert 55 per cent of municipal waste away from landfill by 2025 – but it is falling well short of this goal, with only 27.3 per cent diverted last financial year.

This was worse than the year before, when 28.4 per cent of municipal waste was not sent to landfill.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the flood disaster that impacted the state’s southeast had contributed to an increase in municipal waste.

But she also pointed to the upward trend of people working from home, using food delivery services, and shopping online – suggesting this had also led to a spike in household waste since Covid-19.

Wheelie bins sit on a street kerb in Brisbane.

Ms Scanlon urged Queenslanders to use their yellow-top bin – particularly if they were spending more time at home.

“We’re still doing much better than we were a decade ago, but I think it’s an important reminder for people who are staying at home more often to be conscious that they’re putting the right waste in the right bin,” she said.

Overall, the 9.26 million tonnes of waste generated in Queensland last financial year was down slightly from 9.3 million tonnes in 2020-21.

About 78 per cent of construction and demolition waste that was generated in the state was diverted from landfill – which was above the government’s target of 75 per cent.

Across the state, 15,100 tonnes of litter and illegally dumped rubbish was cleaned up, which was about 3100 tonnes more – or a 25.8 per cent jump – from the year before.

The clean-up cost ratepayers $29m.

Ms Scanlon said the increasing rates of illegal litter was because of increased compliance.

“Of course, we continue to support councils with funding to drive out illegal dumping and monitor those hot spots, so when someone does the wrong thing they’re caught,” she said.

The government meanwhile pocketed $348.3m from the waste levy last financial year – up from $303.34m the year before.

The volume of waste entering Queensland from interstate hit 460,000 tonnes, a one-third increase over the previous year.

This included 170,000 tonnes of disaster waste from flood-hit NSW.