Queensland Organics Strategy and Action Plan
Organic waste makes up around half of what Queenslanders throw away each week in their wheelie bin.
Organic material includes garden, food, food processing, biosolids and agricultural waste and is one of the main types of waste sent to landfill. Although this material is often seen as ‘natural’, when it breaks down it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is at least 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Collecting and reprocessing this waste not only reduces greenhouse emissions and the amount of waste disposed to landfill, but also retains the organic material in circulation at its highest possible value.
Some of this material is already being converted into new products including soil, potting mix and mulch in Queensland. It can also be used for other purposes, including the production of animal feed and feedstock for technologies that create biofuels or bioenergy. However, further work is required to make the most of this important and valuable resource.
In Queensland, about 300,000 households have an organic waste bin, with most of these used only for garden waste. By 2030 we want to see more than 1.6 million households collecting both food and garden waste to assist in meeting national and state targets. Read about food and garden waste collection trials and local government funding.
Queensland Organics Strategy 2022–2032
The Queensland Organics Strategy 2022–2032 (the Organics Strategy) provides the overarching framework and actions for improved management of organic materials along the organics supply chain and consumption chain. The Organics Strategy outlines the actions we will take over the next decade to avoid generating organic waste in the first place and improve the end-use management of material that can’t be avoided. The Organics Strategy has been informed by extensive stakeholder consultation and feedback provided on the Draft Queensland Organics Strategy 2022–2032.
Queensland Organics Action Plan 2022–2032
The Queensland Organics Action Plan 2022–2032 (Organics Action Plan) supports the Organics Strategy and provides details on how these actions will be delivered. The Organics Action Plan provides a clear roadmap for how Queensland plans to avoid generating organic waste, reduce the impacts of organic waste on the environment and communities, transition to a circular economy and build economic and market opportunity for the organics recycling industry.
Delivery of the Organics Action Plan will be monitored and evaluated every three years in line with the Queensland Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy to ensure we are on track to meet the targets set out in the Organics Strategy and to provide opportunity for adjustment as waste reform initiatives progress.