Waste & Recycling Services
Frequently Asked Questions – Fees & Charges
Will Council introduce a dedicated wheelie bin
for Green Waste?
Council is very mindful of increasing rate costs for
our residents and continually looks for alternative,
less expensive means of achieving outcomes. In
this case, providing a separate green waste bin for
Bundaberg
region
residents
would
cost
approximately $4.5 million per annum. This would
cost ratepayers an additional $120 each year on
their rates notice which Council considered to be
too great.
There are various alternatives for managing green
waste which include composting, mulching, selfhaul to a waste facility or engaging commercial
garden bag service.
Why does Council charge to dispose green
waste when they sell it back as mulch?
There are many costs involved with the processing
of green waste at our Waste Management
Facilities. The fees charged for disposing of green
waste directly relate to these processing costs and
are used for services such as to engage
commercial providers to process green waste &
produce the mulch.
Why do I get charged to dispose my waste
when I have no kerbside collection service?
Residents outside the designated collection do not
have a Waste levy attached to their rates. This is
why residents who self-haul are charged to dispose
of waste. A standard kerbside collection equates to
almost $6 per week in comparison to a minimum
charge of $5.00 for a wheelie bin size of general
waste.
Will Council introduce a voucher system?
Council may consider introducing a voucher system
in the future however no plans for this have been
made in the short term.
Why are the fees at Councils Transfer Stations
set at the current rate?
Factors such as operating costs and legal
requirements as set out in the Waste Reduction &
Recycling Regulations influence the fees that are
charged.
Recent comparisons made against
similar Councils such as Fraser Coast & Gladstone
has shown that Bundaberg Regional Council’s
charges are in line with, or cheaper than, the
average of fees charged by Councils of a
comparable size to the BRC.
Please find complete comparison table over
page.
Why have new charges been introduced to
dump TV’s, Monitors & Mattress’s?
A new handling fee has been introduced for the
disposal of TV’s & Monitors. This fee passed on
to IMPACT, who employ disadvantaged
members of the community, in its entirety to
cover costs involved in processing these items.
This fee covers costs for IMPACT staff to
manually strip the recyclable components from
the each item.
Fee for mattresses have been introduced to
cover processing costs involved as they are
costly to handle.
Mattresses are costly to process because:
 They take up a large amount of space in
landfill
 They create voids when buried in landfill
which increases leachate production – which
Council needs to contain and reduce
 Because of the voids caused by mattress’s
they often rise to surface when buried
 They are a fire hazard
Council is currently looking at alternatives for
recycling mattresses such as working with NotFor-Profit & local commercial operators.
Why is there a charge for commercial
cardboard and comingled recyclables?
Fees for handling commercial quantities of
Cardboard & Comingled recyclables are charges
to cover transportation & handling costs.
Customers can avoid this fee altogether by
taking their CLEAN LOADS of Cardboard & Comingles Recyclables directly to the MRF.
Why have hours been reduced at facilities?
Extensive research was undertaken to
determine usage at each facility. Hours have
been reassessed as a result of these findings
and altered accordingly.
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Can Council collect our recycling bin
weekly?
At the present time, Council has no plans to
increase the fortnightly service schedule for
recycling bin collection as this would mean an
increase in waste collection fees for all
ratepayers.
Summary of 2015/2016 Waste Disposal Fees
However, residents who require more recycling
space can request an additional recycling bin,
which would attract an additional fee through the
rates system of less than $2.00 per week.
If you are interested in requesting an additional
bin, you can contact our Customer Service
Centre on 1300 883 699 for more details.
Recycling bins can also be taken to any of our
waste management facilities to dispose of the
contents free of charge, provided the load does
not contain any other chargeable waste.
Compost Today,
for a
Better Tomorrow
When will Council introduce a voucher
system?
The introduction of a voucher system has been
flagged for consideration by Council.
2014/2015 Waste Disposal Fees – Cost Comparison
Commercial
Construction &
Demolition
$133.50
Concrete
Green Waste
Domestic General Domestic Green
Waste (Trailer/Ute) Waste (Trailer/Ute)
$16.00
Free
Gladstone
$133.50
$35.00
$27.00
Rockhampton
$135.00
$135.00
$135.00
N/A
$46.00
Fraser Coast
$120.00
$135.00
$54.00
N/A
$15.50
Free
Sunshine Coast
$161.00
$161.00
$18.00
$50.00
$22.00
$15.00
Noosa
$137.00
$137.00
$17.00
$50.00
$20.50
$15.00
Bundaberg
Average other
Councils
Average Bundaberg
Regional Council
$86.00
$86.00
$70.00
$65.00
$8.50
$8.50
$137.30
$137.30
$51.80
$48.00
$18.00
$6.00
$122.00
$93.00 - $103.00
$70.00 -$75.00
$65.00 - $75.00
$10.00
$8.50
Free
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