Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announces green bin rollout in 2025 budget

Brisbane City Council residents will receive a green bin from August. Here’s how it will change things for you.

Brisbane City Council will introduce green bins across the city.

Brisbane City Council will introduce a citywide green bin rollout, with ratepayers waste levy set to rise by almost $50-a-year, even if people don’t want one.

In a bid to save ratepayers millions of dollars in waste levies, council has announced in its annual budget that it would rollout green bins to every resident over the coming months.

But, ratepayers would be slugged an extra $49.52 a year for the bins, unless they already had one.

It comes after weeks of speculation the plans would be included in the budget, with aerial photos of the Nundah council depot showing thousands of wheelie bins were stored there.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner used the announcement to slam the former Labor Government’s bin tax for increasing costs for ratepayers.

“If you removed the impact of the State Government’s ‘bin tax’ council’s waste charge for houses that don’t have a green bin would only have increased by the normal annual amount – 3.87 per cent, or around $4 a quarter,” Mr Schrinner said.

Adrian Schrinner speaks at the budget hand down in City Hall. Photo: Steve Pohlner

“The bin tax really was a trojan horse tax on South East Queensland residents.”

Council claimed the rollout will save residents between $2 million and $3 million in the first year, and up to $32 million over five years.

Unit owners and others could opt out of receiving a green bin, but would still pay the extra amount thanks to the new universal waste fee.

It means all bins (red, yellow and green) would be collected under the same fee, which has raised to $512.96 a year.

Half of all eligible households, about 170,000, currently have a green bin.

Mr Schrinner, in his budget speech, poked fun at the Opposition for leaking the plans earlier this month.

“The stockpiles of green bins we now have at our resource recovery centres ready for the rollout are so large you could probably see them from space.

“So I’ve watched in amusement in recent weeks as those opposite fell over each other trying to claim credit for our roll out of green bins,” he said.

Red bin collections would not be reduced to once a fortnight to accommodate the new service, Mr Schrinner confirmed.

The first bins will begin to roll out from August.

Originally published as Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announces green bin rollout in 2025 budget