- Crisafulli Government launches $487 million Waste Reduction and Recycling Activation Fund.
- Major investment to partner with Councils and industry to deliver the waste and recycling infrastructure Queensland needs.
- Delivering the infrastructure to recycle more, send less to landfill and support jobs across the State.
- Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035 will turn the tide on a decade of failure under the former Labor Government.
The Crisafulli Government is partnering with councils and industry to deliver the infrastructure Queensland needs to recycle more, send less to landfill and create jobs through the new $487 million Waste Reduction and Recycling Activation Fund.
Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035 is the Crisafulli Government's plan to turn around a decade of Labor failure that left Queensland second last in the nation for recycling and sending more waste to landfill than ever before.
Backing that plan is a $487 million investment over five years that will drive new and expanded resource recovery infrastructure across metropolitan, regional and remote Queensland while giving councils and industry the confidence to invest.
This is in addition to the $488 million in annual payments already made to councils this year to help offset the costs of the waste levy, providing budget certainty to councils.
The Waste Reduction and Recycling Activation Fund will provide practical pathways to improve recycling across Queensland, including support for councils to expand kerbside recycling and organics services, transport incentives that help make regional recycling projects viable, and capital funding to help deliver new recycling and resource recovery infrastructure.
The investment will recover more valuable materials, divert thousands more tonnes of waste from landfill, strengthen Queensland's circular economy and support local jobs.
The package includes a $40 million increase to the Resource Recovery Boost Fund, taking the investment from $130 million to $170 million to help councils accelerate the delivery of critical recycling and resource recovery infrastructure across Queensland.
It also includes:
$55 million for the Kerbside Bin Activation Fund (which will continue to expand on the GROW FOGO Fund).
$17.7 million for the Fighting Illegal Dumping Partnership Program.
$12.5 million for the Residual Waste Fund.
$18.5 million for the Recycle Wise Education Fund.
$11.7 million for the Waste Technology and Innovation Fund.
$2 million for the Statewide Recycling Infrastructure Plan.
The package also delivers $11 million for a dedicated Regional Recycling Transport Fund to help move recyclable materials to processing facilities, ensuring regional projects have the feedstock needed to become commercially viable.
The former Labor Government discontinued its regional transport program in 2020, leaving many regional communities without the support needed to make new recycling infrastructure stack up.
Minister for the Environment and Tourism Andrew Powell said the Crisafulli Government was delivering the investment needed to reverse Labor's decade of decline.
"After 10 years of Labor, Queensland had fallen to second last in the nation for recycling, with more waste going to landfill than ever before," Minister Powell said.
"Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035 is our plan to turn that around, and this investment is how we're getting on with delivering it.
"We've already made strong progress by putting the right incentives in place so councils and industry can invest with confidence and deliver the recycling infrastructure Queensland needs.
"Government doesn't build recycling facilities itself. Our job is to partner with councils and industry, remove the barriers to investment and back practical projects that get more material out of landfill.
"Whether it's helping councils roll out more kerbside recycling, making regional projects stack up through transport incentives or supporting new recycling facilities, this package is focused on getting better outcomes on the ground.
"After a decade of decline, we're delivering a fresh start by making it easier for Queenslanders to recycle, supporting local jobs and building the infrastructure our growing State needs."
Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive officer Alison Smith said councils welcomed the return of transportation funding for recycled materials.
"Councils have been consistently calling for this transportation funding to be restored because it is key to increasing recycling rates and reducing the overall amount of waste going to landfill in a state as decentralised as Queensland," Ms Smith said.
"We look forward to working with the government on how this transportation funding will be rolled out to councils."
