Council endorses vital strategy for the future of Gympie’s waste
Gympie Regional Council has adopted a ten-year blueprint to guide the region’s waste management and resource recovery efforts.
The Waste Strategy 2025-2035 responds to pressing challenges including limited landfill capacity, rising waste management costs, and growing community expectations for more sustainable waste solutions.
It aligns Council with regional and state targets and identifies the goal of diverting 65% of all waste from landfill and defines actions against five key priority areas:
- Optimising waste and resource recovery infrastructure
- Promoting an organics circular economy
- Championing behaviour change to reduce waste
- Creating a resource-efficient community
- Strengthening governance and regional collaboration
As part of this strategy, Council will explore how to address immediate waste needs, as well as possible future initiatives such as the viability of introducing a three-bin kerbside system for food and garden organics (FOGO). The plan also focuses on enhancing public education and investing in infrastructure to support local recycling markets.
Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said the strategy would help to transform the region’s waste systems as part of Council’s commitment to ensuring Gympie remained a great place to live, work, and visit.
“As a growing region, we need to ensure we’re looking to the future when it comes to the management of our waste, and this strategy will help create a cleaner, more sustainable, and more self-reliant,” Cr Hartwig said.
“Responsible waste management that also meets legislation is a challenging space for any Council, and by adopting this strategy we are doing our part to ensure our waste services meet the needs of our growing community, while also recognising the need for ongoing advocacy for investment from other levels of government.”