Why Wide Bay Burnett ratepayers are facing higher rubbish costs

A new report on dealing with rubbish in Bundaberg, Fraser Coast, Gympie, North Burnett, South Burnett and Cherbourg has revealed what changes are coming for each region and how much they will cost ratepayers.

A new report has laid bare the stark realities facing the Wide Bay Burnett’s six councils as they work to meet state and federal guidelines on waste services, and the ripple effect this will have for ratepayers.

Homeowners across the Wide Bay and Burnett could be paying up to $80 extra each year as councils across the region grapple with the rising cost of waste management.

A new report exploring the costs and benefits of expanding waste services within the Bundaberg, Fraser Coast, Gympie, North Burnet, South Burnett and Cherbourg council areas has revealed not only what changes are in the works, but the price tag to make them.

The report, by professional service group PwC, says some of the changes are being brought in due to factors outside council controls.

A big shift has been the reduction in state government advanced levy payments to the Bundaberg and Fraser Coast councils to help deal with waste.

These are forecast to drop from 105 per cent to only 20 per cent by the 2030-31 financial year.

The need to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills across the Wide Bay Burnett will lead to ratepayers paying more for waste services as they are expanded.

All other councils except Cherbourg, which is outside the state levy zone, will continue to get 100 per cent of their advanced payments (although this will be reviewed in 2025).

This change meant it was “critical” to reduce the amount of rubbish headed to landfills to minimise the financial burden on councils and ratepayers, the report said.

Better recycling and resource recovery services were needed to achieve this, but these would come with their own costs.

Transport costs across the Wide Bay Burnett were “prohibitive” due to the dispersion of its cities and towns, making it difficult to attract resource recovery businesses and private investment to the regions.

A lack of community understand and “little incentive to improve practices” meant waste would continue piling up at the regions’ tips.

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Expanded recycling services, starting with the South Burnett, were among the proposals on the cards as Wide Bay Burnett councils work to meet federal and state guidelines on waste.

New organic waste kerbside collection at Bundaberg and the Fraser Coast, expanded kerbside recycling services, and the “beneficiation” of glass and plastic waste in the regions were among the changes discussed.

Beneficiation is the removal of impurities from a product to allow it to be recycled.

Trucking waste outside the Wide Bay Burnett was an option too.

Organic waste collection and processing was not on the table in Gympie, Cherbourg, the North or South Burnett.

The cost of implementing these changes across the next 30 years ranged from $153 million to undertake the smallest “package” to $238 million.

The smallest “package” included only organic waste kerbside collection, and expanded recycling in the South Burnett.

Depending on how hard the councils wanted to go with their changes, the cost to ratepayers would be between $55.50 and $80.20 each year.

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The upside to these changes would be an economic boost to the region through new jobs and encouraging new waste-focused businesses to set up shop in the Wide Bay Burnett.

This would then have the flow on effect of improving efficiency and reducing costs for existing businesses.

These changes to waste services were also needed to reach and maintain state and federal government targets which will not be possible without “a fundamental shift in policy”.