Do you believe you are paying too high of a waste levy? Unsure as to whether or not you can get a discount for residue waste?
In Queensland, the waste levy operates under:
(a) the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011; and
(b) the Waste Reduction and Recycling Regulation 2023.
The Act and the Regulation are administered by the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI).
If a recycling activity achieves a certain recycling efficiency, then the waste levy on the residue waste being disposed of to landfill is reduced by 50%.
Schedule 3 of the Regulation lists the following recycling activities which may be eligible for the discount:
- e-waste recycling to separate e-waste into clean streams of individual components and materials;
- repurposing e-waste for re-use;
- paper and cardboard recycling to produce new paper and cardboard products;
- recycling mixed construction and demolition waste to produce aggregate or other new products to a particular specification;
- glass refining to produce aggregate or other products of a particular specification;
- metal recovery by shredding or fragmenting, using equipment capable of separating different types of metal;
- plastic recycling using an extrusion process or a washing and flaking process to produce components for use in new products;
- plastic recycling of soft plastics to produce components for use in new products;
- tyre recycling to produce rubber output to a particular specification and particle size;
- reclaimed timber recycling or sorting for re-use;
- reclaimed timber recycling or sorting for processing for production of new timber products.
The activity of “recycling mixed construction and demolition waste to produce aggregate or other new products to a particular specification” newly took effect in July 2025.
If you carry out a recycling activity not listed above, you can contact the DETSI to seek to have your activity added to the list.
To obtain the discount the following are the minimum recycling efficiencies that need to be demonstrated:
- 80% for recycling mixed construction and demolition waste to produce aggregate or other new products to a particular specification.
- 60% for all other recycling activities.
The DETSI may narrowly interpret these provisions and refuse an application for the discount. For example, recent case law has ruled when some material is not waste (and if it is not waste, it is not subject to the waste levy).
A refusal of an application for the discount can be reviewed by way of internal review and then on external review to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).
Milne Legal provides advice and represents clients in relation to a range of town planning and environmental law matters, and can assist with your refused application. If you would like to get in touch, please contact our office on (07) 3210 0943 or email us at admin@milnelegal.com.au.
This publication is general in nature. Its content is current at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and you should always seek legal advice based on your particular circumstances prior to making any decisions relating to matters covered by this publication. Certain details may have been sourced from external references, and we cannot assure the accuracy or timeliness of such information.