Ipswich residents have helped divert almost 10,000 tonnes of green waste from landfill in just six months of using their green-lidded garden organics (GO) bins.
More than 56,000 green-lidded GO bins were provided to households across Ipswich in mid-2025, with about 90,000 households now helping convert garden waste into valuable compost rather than being tipped into landfill.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the three-bin system was introduced to reduce the impacts of the Queensland Government’s waste levy, with the green-lidded bin rollout funded through a $5.9 million grant by the State Government.
“Whether it’s grass clippings, fallen leaves or hedge trimmings, Ipswich residents have been using their GO bins – and using them correctly,” Mayor Harding said.
“Contamination rates have been below 1 per cent across the first six months, with Ipswich Waste Services trucks collecting 9,872 tonnes of GO material from more than 530,000 bin loads.
“This GO material has diverted from landfill and processed into valuable compost products used for food production, gardens and landscaping.
“The carbon emissions that would have resulted from this garden waste going into landfill would have been equivalent to those of 2,000 cars in a year.
“This has been an overwhelmingly positive start to the three-bin system for our city as we respond to the Queensland Government’s levy on councils of $125 per tonne of waste, which is set to rise to $135 in 2026-2027 and $145 the following year.
“I’m proud that our city has embraced the three-bin system, driving Ipswich toward a more sustainable future.”
Environment and Sustainability Committee Chairperson Councillor Jim Madden said the success of the GO bin rollout followed significant community engagement and education efforts by council.
“The low contamination rates indicate the community is on board with council in our waste reduction journey,” Cr Madden said.
“Our residents’ adoption of the three-bin system means an approximate saving of $10 per household, compared to the costs that would have resulted from the State Government’s escalating waste levy if we maintained the previous two-bin system.
“Homeowners are taking up our GO challenge each month, with 60 per cent of GO bins presented for collection in December – up from 48 per cent in November.
“Council is proud to continue efforts in landfill reduction, including our On-Demand Large Item Kerbside Collection program which recycled nearly a thousand tonnes of material in its first year.”
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