GBSAN is gratified to hear that our proposal to introduce a Household Chemical Waste scheme has been adopted by the Southern Downs Regional Council. By voting to endorse the trial, the council has shown its commitment to the responsible disposal of pollutants, which will help to reduce the chemical burden on regional ecosystems.
GBSAN’s Resource Recovery Team presented the proposal to the council in late 2022, after it became apparent that residents of the Southern Downs had no means of easily, cheaply or safely disposing of household chemicals.
Products like cleaning chemicals, paint strippers, solvents, adhesives, pool chemicals and garden pesticides and herbicides were not accepted at any of the council waste facilities or in kerbside collection bins, meaning that residents’ only means of lawful disposal of these chemicals was to engage a chemical waste contractor at prohibitively expensive costs.
In Queensland, there is currently no requirement for local councils to provide household chemical waste collection, though this situation will likely change as national standards are introduced in the next few years.
In 2024, GBSAN continued to lobby the newly elected council for a household chemical waste scheme and were able to successfully persuade council of the need for positive change.
Contracts for the scheme are currently in the procurement process and the exact details of the household chemical waste pilot scheme will be some months away.
At this stage GBSAN is able to confirm the following:
Council has allocated $30,000 in the 2024-25 budget for a household chemical collection.
This is a trial for this year, and the program will be assessed to see if there is an on-going need for the community.
The focus will be on household chemicals- there is already a national program available, ChemClear, for the disposal of agricultural and veterinary chemicals.
It is anticipated for this year that a contractor will be engaged to be on-site for 1-2 days throughout the year at the Warwick and Stanthorpe Waste Facilities, and residents can take their chemicals to the waste facilities on these days for correct disposal.
The program will be widely advertised at the waste facilities, on social media, and other council communication such as through the Southern Downs Regional Council’s newsletter.
Well done and congratulations to the Southern Downs for taking this important step towards keeping our environment free of pollutants.
