Residents ‘suspicious’ of government crackdown on waste odour

Ipswich residents say they are suspicious of the crackdown on waste companies and compost businesses, announced on Saturday by Queensland’s Environment Minister Leanne Linard.

The crackdown means new or expanding composters will have to compost their waste indoors to stop bad smells drifting over suburbs.

Companies delivering waste to the compost businesses will have to use closed-in trucks and deliver to the new closed-in compost premises.

Some Ipswich residents have protested for more than a decade over expansion plans by waste companies near Ipswich.Credit: Ipswich Residents Against Toxic Environments.

But the long-running community lobby group Ipswich Residents Against Toxic Environments (IRATE) say they “need more than words”.

“Unfortunately, we have seen similar moves before,” spokesman Jim Dodrill said on Saturday.

“And they always seem to come just before a state election.

“We remain suspicious of whether the government will follow through on this, purely based on their record.”

A heat map of Swanbank industrial area odour complaints.Credit: Department of Environment, Science and Innovation

In 2023, residents made 8000 odour complaints about waste and compost business around Swanbank.

Residents lost faith in the local council and the Queensland government from 2019 when it was revealed both levels of government were considering approving a new waste dump at Swanbank despite more than 1000 odour complaints in 12 months.

The Labor-aligned council lost office in 2020 and Labor in March 2024 lost the seat of Ipswich West after an 18 per swing to the LNP. Waste complaints was a factor in both elections.

There are now three compost businesses; NuGrow, Bio-Recycle and Wood Mulching Industries (WMI); operating in Swanbank Industrial Park and a varying number of waste dumps, depending on government closures.

In March 2021, the Department of Environment and Science fined WMI $13,345 for creating odours over the residents of Redbank Plains.

The new legislation was flagged in May 2023 and revealed by Environment Minister Leanne Linard in Swanbank on Saturday.

“Odour is affecting the lives of thousands of Queenslanders every day, particularly in the
Swanbank and New Chum areas,” Linard said.

“This is simply unacceptable and since becoming minister, addressing this has been a top priority.”

This map of the Swanbank Industrial Park shows how close residents of Collingwood Park, Redbank Plains, Swanbank, Flinders View and New Chum are in 2024 to noxious industries.Credit: Department of Environment, Science, and Innovation

The bad odours in several suburbs around the Swanbank Industrial Park have made some residents physically unwell for several decades.

These concerns prompted groups like IRATE to lobby for changes to waste industry guidelines.

Environment Minister Leanne LinardCredit: Brisbane Times

Linard said the proposed new legislation includes sections restricting waste companies from delivering “odorous waste” to compost businesses which do not meet these new laws.

“At a community meeting in Redbank Plains in September, I gave a commitment that the government would consider stronger regulations that would require all existing organics facilities in close proximity to residential areas to transition to fully-enclosed facilities,” Linard said.

“For years, the Environmental Regulator [the Department of Environment and Science] has tried to get some operators to do the right thing.

“Now we have taken decisive action to strengthen the regulations.”

The government said there had been a 40 per cent increase in the number of inspections since 2023, and almost triple the enforcement notices issued.

Dodrill described the government’s compliance officers as pro-business.