Rubbish numbers: Cairns’ shocking 20,000-tonne waste problem
Cairns Regional Council has sent 20,487 tonnes more rubbish to landfill in the last financial year than in 2021/22 as councillors call for the return of an annual report into the council’s sustainability practices.
Cairns Regional Council has sent 20,487 tonnes more rubbish to landfill in the last financial year than in 2021/22 with councillors calling for the return of an annual sustainability report into its environmental practices.
But the council says it will deliver a report once every four years, instead, with the landfill increase due to a fire which destroyed one of the city’s recycling centres in early 2025.
A whopping 56,726 tonnes of Cairns garbage was dumped at Springmount waste management facility near Mareeba in 2024/25.
On average, around 65 trucks have taken 1,300 tonnes per week on a 180km round-trip journey to landfill after a blaze demolished the council’s Porsmith-based Bedminster Advanced Resource Recovery Facility in January.
Before the fire, the facility turned general waste into compost for more than two decades, breaking down rubbish in controlled conditions over several days.
The landfill number is significantly higher than in 2021/22 when the council diverted 65 per cent of the waste it received.
That year, just 36,239 tonnes were sent to landfill — its lowest total since 2014/15.
The benchmark figure was recorded in the council’s State of the Environment report which was handed down annually from 2009-2022.
But the council hasn’t released an SoE report since.
“The previous State of the Environment Report was published in 2021/22 with the next edition scheduled for 2026/27, which aligns with the State Government’s reporting timing of every four years,” a council spokesman said.
“The council continues to take practical actions to enhance local ecosystems and reduce environmental impacts.”
The failure to report on the council’s sustainability efforts, including waste minimisation, recycling and emissions reduction was a mistake, Division Five councillor Rob Pyne said.
“Our sustainability team and climate action need to be at the heart of the organisation,” Mr Pyne said.
“Residents are concerned about these issues and want regular reporting because they’re worried about what’s going on.
“There’s a financial cost to not doing better in that space because we have to truck it up the hill.”
Division Seven councillor Anna Middleton said annual reporting would ensure that the council could be held to account by the community.
“I have concerns that we haven’t consistently produced an annual SoE report. But I look forward to and intend to study closely the next report,” Ms Middleton said.
“I believe the council can maintain a commitment to the environment and to being transparent with ratepayers.”
Mr Pyne said the council’s decision to sell its carbon credits in May reflected some leaders’ lack of regard for the environment.
“The sale of those credits was a clear indication of where some of our elected representatives sit on the environment and I am worried about it,” he said.
“We’re impacted by rising sea levels. We’re coming up to a disaster season. How are we going to be affected by weather in the future?”
An anual report was in the public interest, Division Eight councillor Rhonda Coghlan said.
“The community needs to be better informed within this space,” Ms Coghlan said.
WASTE WAIT
The council has sought expressions of interest from businesses to replace Bedminster with a tender process currently underway with a group of shortlisted organisations, Division One councillor Brett Moller said.
“This will enable the identification of a supplier to undertake waste processing over an interim period,” Mr Moller said.
But the chair of the Local Authority Waste Management Committee said regulations imposed on councils meant disposing of waste through more environmentally friendly methods was still fiscally prohibitive.
“With the uncertainties around the state government’s strategic review underway, in the regulatory environment, and evolving technologies, there are no clear solutions that minimise waste to landfill economically, reliably and at a scale to support a city of Cairns’ size,” he said.
“For this reason, it is imperative that we continue to work with the state government to investigate our options for longer term waste management solutions.”
Mayor Amy Eden said she wasn’t aware of why the report had stopped being delivered annually but would take comments from councillors on notice.
The fire to Bedminster means that the council is currently exempt from a waste levy on red-lid bins until June 30 next year.
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Originally published as Rubbish numbers: Cairns’ shocking 20,000-tonne waste problem
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