Last week, the Queensland Government released its Recycling and Waste Industry Directions Paper – a document designed to inform the development of the State’s waste management strategy. The strategy is underpinned by a waste levy, commencing in the first quarter of 2019 it will initially be set at $70 per tonne of general waste sent to landfill and will increase by $5 annually over a four-year period. The waste levy zone will include 38 local government areas out of the state’s 77 and cover 90% of Queensland’s population.
This tax is in direct response to a formal investigation into the disposal of interstate waste in Queensland by Justice Peter Lyons QC following last year’s Four Corners’ Report into inter-state waste movements from New South Wales to Queensland. Until now, Queensland was the only mainland state without a waste levy, after it was withdrawn in 2012 following only six months of operation.
This new tax will make waste disposal more expensive for all businesses including Queensland’s agricultural sector. There are numerous jurisdictions where a tax has been successful in driving growth and innovation working in conjunction with a range of initiatives. Including, landfill bans, substantial R&D and innovation programs, demonstrator and pilot opportunities and importantly, complete and historical data regarding illegally dumped wastes.
Without all factors considered, adverse environmental, economic and social costs will occur. In the past, poorly planned taxes have resulted in unforeseen economic costs associated with the illegal stockpiling of wastes by both unlicenced and licenced sites attempting to evade their landfill tax liability and a significant increase in illegally dumped wastes. In the UK where the landfill tax is £88.95/tonne (approx. $160) – the National Farmers Union has classed illegal dumping as one of the major proponents of rural crime – QFF certainly does not want to see our regions and farms under siege from illegally dumped wastes.
Strong policy and an enforced regulatory framework is necessary to ensure that landowners are not the victims of illegally dumped waste from people and companies trying to avoid the higher disposal charges.