Residents' input will help shape waste and recycling changes

Noosa Council is set to revamp the way it deals with waste in response to major advancements in the industry and emerging new technology.

Residents’ input, says Mayor Clare Stewart, will be crucial to deciding what changes occur.

“Getting to know how much rubbish households generate, how often residents visit Council’s landfills, and how dedicated the community is to sorting rubbish will all help inform what we do,” Cr Stewart said.

“We’ll be asking locals to tell us if they feel confident knowing what to recycle or would like to know more, and whether they’re interested in new and more environmentally friendly ways of disposing organic waste and at what cost.”

Residents can share their thoughts online as well as at a series of community pop-ups.

“A lot has changed since 2015 when we adopted our current waste arrangements, including more ambitious recycling targets set by the state, and the availability of new technology to improve recycling and divert more waste from landfill. 

Council is looking to divert more organic waste from landfill to reduce emissions and prolong the life of the landfill.

“So, to keep pace, what we currently do needs to change. We’ll be developing a new set of arrangements to see us through the next five years.”

Mayor Stewart said 63% of Council’s emissions comes from residential and commercial waste that ends up in landfill.

“Over 40% of compostable organic material such as kitchen scraps goes into Noosa's general waste bins, and when organic matter is buried in the landfill it gives off methane gas which is 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

“The broad roll-out of the garden waste bin service in 2015 has helped divert a significant amount of organic waste from landfill, but there is more we can do, including divert other organic waste, such as food waste.

“Diverting more waste from landfill through recycling also all helps prolong the life of our landfill.”

Visit yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au to take the survey, or drop in to one of the community pop-ups near you:

• Cooroy Library: 16 February 2023 – 9am-11am.
• Noosaville Library: 17 February 2023 – 9am-11am.
• Cooroy Library: 23 February – 3pm-5pm.
• Noosaville Library: 24 February – 3pm-5pm.
• Pomona Country Markets: 18 March 6am-12 noon.
• Noosa Farmers Market: 26 March - 6am-12 noon