Waste management laws
The Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Policy (PDF)*, and the Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Regulation (PDF)*, which commenced on 1 July 2000, clarify waste management practices in Queensland and provide environmental safeguards.
Developed in conjunction with local government and industry, the legislation provides for safe disposal practices and results in cost savings from planning and management of waste services
- Previous waste management laws
- The Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Policy
- Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Regulation
- Accessing the legislation
Previous waste management laws
Before 1 July 2000, waste was managed under provisions contained in legislation including the Litter Act 1971 (Qld) and the Environmental Protection (Interim Waste) Regulation 1996 (Qld).
The current policy and Regulation unify waste requirements and address waste streams previously not subject to legislation. This required changes to existing legislation, including the repeal of the Litter Act 1971 and the Environmental Protection (Interim Waste) Regulation 1996 (which was incorporated into the Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Regulation on 31 August 2007).
The Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Policy
The Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Policy provides a strategic framework for managing waste in Queensland by establishing principles for achieving good waste management and a preferred waste management hierarchy which moves from the most preferred to least preferred method as follows:
- waste avoidance
- waste re-use
- waste recycling
- energy recovery from waste
- waste disposal.
The principles for achieving good waste management include:
- the polluter pays principle which states that the waste generator should, where possible, bear all costs associated with waste management
- the user pays principle which states that all costs associated with the use of a resource should, where possible, be included in the price of goods and services developed from that resource
- the product stewardship principle which states that the producer or importer of a product should take all reasonable steps to minimise environmental harm from the production, use and disposal of the product.
These principles and the hierarchy provide a basis for waste management programs that may be required as a condition of approval for an environmentally relevant activity for industry, for voluntary industry waste reduction programs and for state and local government waste management strategic plans.
The policy also:
- includes criteria for administering authorities to follow when making environmental management decisions concerning waste
- specifies the contents of waste management programs, which may be required as a condition of approval of an environmentally relevant activity under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld)
- provides for voluntary industry waste reduction agreements which an industry member or association can enter. These agreements are designed to:
- minimise the amount of waste generated by industry
- promote efficient and cost-effective approaches to waste reduction
- encourage greater responsibility for waste reduction within industries
- provides for state and local governments to undertake strategic planning to encourage sustainable waste management practices.
Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Regulation
The Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Regulation addresses waste issues which were not dealt with, or were not clearly defined, under previous legislation, providing clarification to waste producers and state and local government. It gives legislative support to various national guidelines, plans and standards, and also provides for:
- offences for littering, waste dumping, unlawful disposal of hypodermic needles and unlawful activities at waste facilities
- a system that tracks specified wastes and obtains data on their generation, transportation and treatment/disposal in Queensland and interstate
- clinical and related waste management planning, segregation of infectious wastes, appropriate on-site storage and proper disposal
- the management and ultimate phasing out of certain polychlorinated biphenyls
- design rules for waste equipment and toilets.
Accessing the legislation
- Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Policy (PDF)*
- Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Regulation (PDF)*,
- You can also purchase copies from GOPRINT.
* Requires Acrobat Reader
Last updated: 27 October 2009