Garden waste kerbside collection heading to Isa under new plan

The north west Queensland resource recovery plan outlines the need to move away from traditional landfill waste management.

Ten north west councils have signed up, including Mount Isa and Cloncurry. The plan also aims to enhance the region's recycling efforts.

Burke, Carpentaria, Croydon, Etheridge, Flinders, McKinlay, Richmond and Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Councils are the other member councils.

Space for landfill is running out and the Queensland government, who funded the plan, said there is an urgent need to be a move away from these outdated practices.

"The Miles Government's vision is for our state to become a zero-waste society by 2050, where waste is avoided, reused and recycled to the greatest extent possible," Minister for the Environment Leanne Linard said.

"The plan developed by councils in the north-west is pragmatic and progressive in recognising the limitations and challenges in the north-west region while still striving to deliver world class outcomes.

"It will tackle legacy issues such as abandoned vehicles and scrap metal that can be found across these delicate landscapes and identifies opportunities to divert some organic material from landfill through FOGO (food organics and garden organics) and home composting."

New waste transfer stations will be built and 14 landfill sites closed in the years ahead.

Data from Mount Isa City Council shows each resident generates about 14 kilograms of waste a week.

More than two thirds of this waste, which ends up in landfill, can be recycled.

Only Mount Isa and Cloncurry would receive kerbside collection while home composting arrangements would be made in other areas.

"North West Queensland is a vast area and collaboration on waste management and resource recovery was a challenging task without a blueprint for the way forward," Carpentaria Shire Mayor Bawden said.

"The stockpiles of tyres across the region present an opportunity for a coordinated approach to recovery, reprocessing and reuse along with the other legacy wastes of concrete, green and wood waste.

"We are now keen to get on with the task of taking our historical waste management practices to a new level."