Waste Services

Council is keen to encourage recycling and the recovery of as much material as possible from waste produced by our community. There are many opportunities available to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. Ultimately however, avoiding the waste being produced in the first place if possible is the best option.

With the introduction of the Queensland waste levy on 1 July 2019, minimising waste to landfill will help to reduce the amount of levy you have to pay.

All recycling materials are free to dispose at Council waste facilities when placed in the correct locations with the exception of tyres and commercial loads of clean concrete.

To assist in determining what materials can be recycled or otherwise diverted from landfill, Council has developed the following fact sheet.

A-Z of Banana Shire Recycling and Disposal Fact Sheet

For further information or questions regarding recycling in our Shire, please contact Council Waste Services on (07) 4992 9500.

More information is provided below regarding the disposal of:

• Asbestos
• Other hazardous and regulated waste
• Green waste
• Soil

Asbestos Disposal

Details of asbestos disposal requirements are provided in the ‘A-Z of Banana Shire Recycling and Disposal’ fact sheet above.

All household and commercial asbestos deliveries require an application form to be submitted before disposal – no application fees apply. The application forms can be accessed through the documents link above. For domestic loads complete the ‘Notification of Asbestos Disposal – Domestic’.  For commercial loads complete ‘Application for Hazardous/Regulated Waste Disposal at Trap Gully Landfill – Commercial’.

A trial to accept small quantities of domestic asbestos has started at Moura Transfer Station. Persons delivering the waste will need to have the ‘Notification of Asbestos Disposal – Domestic’ form completed and submitted to Council prior to delivery. All asbestos waste is to be securely double wrapped and labelled according to the instructions on the form.

See www.asbestos.qld.gov.au for details on how to safely remove, transport and prepare asbestos for disposal, or refer to the Asbestos guide for minor renovations fact sheet.

Other Hazardous and Regulated Waste Disposal

For the disposal of minor quantities of household hazardous waste, refer to the ‘Guide to household hazardous waste disposal’ fact sheet.

For hazardous or regulated waste not addressed by this fact sheet, disposal options may include –

• Registering with ChemClear – visit www.chemclear.org.au for more information.
• Disposal or treatment outside the Shire – contact a commercial waste contractor;  or
• Disposal at Council’s Trap Gully Landfill.

The A-Z Banana Shire Recycling and Disposal fact sheet linked above also details this further.

Trap Gully Landfill can only accept limited types and quantities of hazardous or regulated waste and an application is required prior to disposal to enable Council to assess the waste for acceptability. 

An application form will need to be completed for both domestic and commercial waste types. A copy of the application form is available through the documents link above.

Testing of the waste may be required to ensure the regulated substances contained within it are below the maximum contaminant levels allowable for disposal at Trap Gully Landfill.  Please contact Council to discuss what tests are required prior to acceptance and disposal.

Pages 12 to 17 of Council’s Environmental Authority (EA) EPPR00818213 details what can and cannot be accepted at Trap Gully Landfill.

Visit the Department of Environment and Science’s website at https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/waste/review-reg-waste.html for more detail about regulated waste.

For an overview of regulated waste categorisation see: https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/assets/documents/regulation/era-is-categorising-regulated-waste.pdf. This document further explains when testing is required and has some worked examples in it.

Some regulated wastes must also be tracked. A list of trackable wastes in Queensland can be viewed here: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/environment/waste-tracking/list-trackable-waste

Green Waste

Council encourages the separation of green waste materials at our waste facilities.  Green waste includes branches and garden clippings. Domestic and commercial green waste is free to drop off at all waste facilities except Trap Gully Landfill.

Raw, clean timber (free of nails, screws, asbestos, paint and contaminants) can also be added to the green waste stockpiles at Council’s transfer stations.

This material is then shredded and made available for use as mulch, reducing unnecessary waste to landfill. To provide a useable product, stockpiles must be clean and free of rubbish.

Council mulches the green waste and offers it to the public free of charge at most waste facilities.  Delivery is available at a cost.

Green waste and food scraps may also be composted or used in home worm farms. For more information about these options refer to the fact sheets below.

Worm farming fact sheet

Composting fact sheet

Soil Disposal

Soil to be disposed of at a Council waste facility will require an Assessment for Soil Disposal form to be completed and submitted before arrival at site.

Soil will be assessed within three categories:

1. clean fill (for cover or alternative use)
2. low level contaminated soil (for landfill cover material, testing for total contaminants may be required)
3. non-accepted waste soil (regulated waste or exceeds allowable landfill EA Permit limits)

All material from land listed on the Environmental/Contaminated Lands Register will require testing.

Waste Facilities

Banana Shire Council maintains eight waste transfer stations and three landfills.

The locations of our facilities, contact details and operating times are listed below.

The 'A-Z Recycling & Disposal' tab provides information about recycling and disposal options for all waste types including asbestos and other hazardous waste.

The legal obligations of the person transporting waste to a waste facility and penalties for non-compliance are details in the fact sheet 'Obligations of Persons Delivering Waste'.

Disposal Cost

Household recycling and waste will continue to be free to dispose (with the exception of tyres) at all Shire waste facilities.

Commercial (non-household) waste will be charged as per Council's Waste Management Disposal Fees if it can not be recycled. Recycling of commercial waste is free, however load size limits may apply.

Commercial waste is currently only accepted for disposal at Trap Gully Landfill; however plans are in place to accept and charge for small quantities of this waste at other Shire facilities in the near future.

For more information about costs associated with kerbside bin collections, refer to the 'Kerbside collection' tab.

Opening Hours 

General Waste Collection 

Weekly kerbside bin collections are provided by Council in most town areas for general waste disposal. A higher frequency of collection is available for commercial premises in Biloela and Moura.

On your collection day, please ensure your bins are placed on the kerb by 6:00am. Face the lid openings to the road, no more than a metre from the kerb edge and at least one metre apart when there is more than one bin.

Additional information for correct wheelie bin usage and Banana Shire bin collection days is also available. For more information, see the Kerbside Waste Services Frequently Asked Questions factsheet.

Recycling Collection

From 3 May 2021, properties with a kerbside wheelie bin service can also make use of a fortnightly kerbside recycling service for paper and cardboard. Throughout April 2021, properties will receive a new paper and cardboard recycling bin recognizable by a blue lid. These new wheelie bins are being provided to each eligible property in the region free of charge.

It is important to note, for this program to be successful will require residents to observe the following important instructions:

Materials that CAN be placed in your blue-lid bin include:

• Cardboard boxes and cartons;
• Cardboard packaging;
• Paper and envelopes (including window envelopes);
• Newspaper and magazines.

Materials NOT accepted in your blue-lid bin include:

• Products with wax coating or metallic surfaces;
• Shredded or laminated paper;
• Plastic food wrappers;
• Cardboard heavily contaminated with food or grease;
• Facial tissues and paper towel;
• Plastic film, clingwrap, pallet shrink or stretch wrap and polystyrene;
• Bottles, cans and other plastics.

If the bins are contaminated with the above prohibited materials, then the content of your bin cannot be recycled which will inevitably lead to increased costs over time.

Your blue-lid recycling bin will be serviced on the same day as your general waste bin, on a fortnightly basis.  Prior to 3 May 2021, you will receive a letter stating whether your recycling service begins in week 1 (week beginning 3 May 2012) or week 2 (week beginning 10 May 2021). Before 6:00am on your normal bin day, please put out your red-lid general waste bin and new blue-lid cardboard bin for collection. In the following week place out your red-lid general waste bin only.

The number of fortnightly recycling services you are entitled to is determined by the number of garbage services on your rates notice. One garbage service will entitle you to one weekly service on a red-lidded general waste bin, and one fortnightly service on a blue-lidded recycling bin.

Please refer to the Correct Wheelie Bin Usage fact sheet above when presenting your bin.

Residential Bin Services and the Queensland Waste Levy

There will be no direct cost impacts on residential kerbside bin collection services from the State Waste Levy.

Council has received an annual payment of $505,705 from the State Government to mitigate any direct impacts of the State Waste Levy on households.  This payment is based on 105% of the municipal solid waste received at Council’s landfills in the previous financial year.

Although Council is obliged to pay a levy to the State Government on all waste disposed to landfill, including household waste, this pre-payment ensures that Council will not be passing on the direct cost of this levy to householders.

Non-residential Bin Services and the Queensland Waste Levy

Since 1 July 2019, Council incurs an additional levy per tonne on all waste disposed to landfill payable to the State Government.  To recover this cost, the utility charge on non-residential kerbside bins was increased.

As an example, the waste levy portion of the non-residential wheelie bin service rate was calculated using the Waste Reduction and Recycling (Waste Levy) Amendment Regulation 2019, Schedule 1 Waste levy rates, and Schedule 4 Weight measurement criteria, Table 2, and has been calculated as follows:

• A wheelie bin is 240 litres = 0.240 m3
• The Regulation has allocated 0.15 as a weight multiplier to convert this volume to tonnes
• 0.240 (bin capacity) * 0.15 (weight multiplier) = 0.036 tonnes
• Charge for a wheelie bin service is therefore 0.036 * $75.00 (waste levy) = $2.70 per collected bin/per week
• For the 2019-2020 year the waste levy component was $2.70 x 52 weeks = $140.40

How can I reduce my charges?

If you have more than one (1) wheelie bin service, you will be charged for all the bin services you currently receive, whether you present all your bins for collection each week or not and regardless of how full the bins are. 

To reduce your costs, you may want to ensure that the bins you are using are full. However, very heavy and over-full bins will not be able to be collected. 

If you are able to reduce the amount of waste you produce, and no longer need all your wheelie bin services, please notify Council and your bin services may be amended.

If you wish to self-haul waste, charges will apply to commercial waste disposal to landfill.  Please see Council’s schedule of fees and charges for further detail.

Waste that can be diverted for recycling at Council’s waste facilities will be accepted free of charge (with the exception of tyres), however some load size limits may apply. 

You may wish to refer to Council’s A-Z of Banana Shire Recycling and Disposal Fact Sheet for further information about local recycling options or the Waste Levy fact sheet for more information about how to reduce waste costs.

Report Littering and Illegal Dumping

It is an offence to dump waste material unlawfully. Common illegally dumped items include household waste, garden waste, building waste, tyres and asbestos.

Littering and illegal dumping reduces visual amenity, pollutes the environment and some waste types can come with significant public health risks. Clean-up costs can be high and are generally borne by Shire ratepayers.

It is important to report any incidents of illegal dumping so that it can be investigated and stopped. When you report an incident, your details will remain confidential.

Report to:

• Banana Shire Council; or
• The Department of Environment Science and Innovation

Council has received funding from the State Government to develop a Waste Management Masterplan.

Waste management infrastructure has been identified as a strategic priority for the community. The purpose of the Masterplan is to create a comprehensive plan of action for the next 15 years to provide the community with sustainable waste management services.

Old problems, new solutions

A component of this Masterplanning exercise is to investigate the use of innovative technologies for waste management as part of the Council’s commitment to maintaining a healthy and sustainable environment for the community.

Future options for waste management

We are now in the development phase of the Masterplan where different options for future waste management are explored and considered. Input from the community into the Masterplan has been undertaken through online and face-to-face surveys so that Council can better understand community views about existing waste management practices in the Shire.

Why the Masterplan is important

The completed Masterplan will inform Council’s waste management decision-making, planning, and budgeting. It will also identify what is required to meet community needs and expectations so that we can achieve sustainable waste management practices in the future.

The Waste Management Masterplan will address the improvement of waste management services offered in the Shire while also considering the costs involved in providing the services.

The Waste and Recycling Management Plan is currently under review for 2022 - 2025. We encourage the public to give feedback by emailing enquiries@banana.qld.gov.au on the draft which can be downloaded by clicking on the link below:

Waste and Recycling Management Plan 2022 - 2025 - DRAFT