Brisbane rubbish to be dumped on Ipswich as landfill nears capacity

CONTROVERSIAL Labor Jo-Ann Miller says the state’s capital should take responsibility for its own “crap” after it was revealed all Brisbane City Council rubbish will soon be dumped on a neighbouring city.

Brisbane’s Rochedale landfill is almost at capacity, necessitating a new site.

IPSWICH will become Brisbane’s dumping ground within years, as the river city’s sole landfill site reaches capacity.

The Sunday Mail can reveal all rubbish collected by two Brisbane City Council contractors will be sent to two waste disposal sites in Ipswich from as early as 2022.

The plan has been slammed by Ipswich-based state MP Jo-Ann Miller, who says locals should not be treated as second-class citizens to those in Brisbane.

Brisbane City Council expects its sole dump at Rochedale to reach capacity within at least the next four years.

It claims there are no other viable locations for a new landfill site in Brisbane.

Member for Bundamba Jo-Ann Miller says Brisbane should take responsibility for its own ‘crap’. Picture: AAP/Dan Peled

As a result, contractors will send Brisbane’s waste to either the Swanbank landfill or the Ti Tree Bioenergy site at Willowbank.

It is understood the new contract was agreed to last year, and the council doesn’t expect it to have a significant impact on costs.

Mrs Miller, who represents the state electorate of Bundamba, said the council should have tried to address the issue years ago to keep the rubbish within its own boundaries.

“We will not have them throwing their rubbish over the border to us and treating us as second-class citizens to take their rubbish and their crap,” she said.

“It is Brisbane City Council’s obligation to look after their own rubbish within their own area.

“They should have been looking at all sorts of hi-tech initiatives in relation to their rubbish.”

Councillor Vicki Howard, who chairs Brisbane City Council’s field services committee, said 400,000 tonnes of waste go into the Rochedale landfill each year.

“With a lack of greenfield development sites in Brisbane, there are no new viable locations for landfills within the city,” she said.

“Over the past 25 years, despite our growing population, the total volume of waste going to landfill annually has decreased by 8 per cent.”

Brisbane City Council Opposition Leader Peter Cumming declined to comment.