Noosa Council will extend its garden waste bin service to include units, resorts and other commercial premises in an effort to divert more waste from landfill.
Cr Joe Jurisevic said recent audits found green waste accounted for more than a quarter of some resorts' general waste bin contents.
The changes will reduce organic waste currently heading for landfill as well as relieve resort and business owners of paying the State Government's new waste levy to dump garden waste, he said.
"With access to the garden waste bin service commercial operators can keep their green waste out of their general rubbish, which is subject to the State's $75-per-tonne waste levy from July 1," Cr Jurisevic said.
The audit found some resorts have dedicated bulk general rubbish bins purely for garden waste, however, all waste collected in these bulk general rubbish bins would be charged the new levy.
"The expansion of the garden waste service will also enable resorts and other commercial operators to upsize standard garden waste bins to 1100L bulk garden waste bins.
"These large garden waste bins, emptied weekly, are a better option financially – $1300 less per year – than paying for a bulk general waste bin just for green waste," Cr Jurisevic said.
"I urge all businesses to review the way they manage their waste – the more items that can be diverted from general waste, including recyclables and green waste, has the potential to lessen the impact of the waste levy on businesses."
Council introduced the mandatory garden waste bin service for more than 15,000 residential properties in September 2017 to reduce organic waste bound for landfill. In landfill, organic waste produces potent greenhouse gas as it decomposes.
For the audit, Council reviewed the contents of more than 820 resort waste bins and more than 756 bins at accommodation units. Of the resort bins, 30% of the contents by weight was garden waste. Garden waste accounted for 24% of the weight of the accommodation units' bin contents.
Waste Manager Wayne Schafer said extending the garden waste bin service could divert an estimated 1,000 additional tonnes of garden waste from landfill annually.
It will be rolled out progressively to resorts and units and to businesses that place green waste in the general waste bin. Businesses that do not generate garden waste would be exempt.
The State Government's $75-per-tonne waste levy will apply to any commercial waste disposed of in landfill from July 1. It will rise to $90 per tonne over the next four years.
