A fairer way for residents to dispose of waste will take effect at Redland City Council’s mainland Recycling and Waste Centres from 6 October.
The new free visit allocation model has been designed to make waste disposal fairer for the community while helping to mitigate the rising costs of operating the Birkdale and Redland Bay centres.
From Tuesday 6 October 2026, residents will receive 12 free visits per vehicle to the mainland facilities each financial year for the disposal of general mixed waste (landfill) and green waste loads, with fees only applying after this allocation has been reached.
You may also like these stories
By asking higher-use customers to pay for disposal after 12 visits, the costs associated with these additional trips will not be passed on to other residents through the waste utility charge paid by Redland households.
Separate fees will also apply for waste types that are more expensive to manage and which fall outside typical household waste materials, such as bricks and concrete, clean soil, mattresses, timber, and tyres.
Residents will still have free and unlimited visits to the two centres for the disposal of certain recyclable materials, including scrap metal, whitegoods, e-waste, barbecue gas bottles, lead-acid batteries, household recyclables, and second-hand items suitable for RecycleWorld.
The disposal of hazardous waste materials, such as asbestos, chemicals and paint, will also remain free within existing disposal limits.
In making the decision to implement a visit allocation system, Council considered the rising costs of waste and recycling services and looked at usage patterns across both facilities.
Audits found that nine per cent of visitors to mainland facilities accounted for about 40 per cent of the landfill and green waste received at these locations, with some vehicles visiting more than 100 times.
While Council accepts that the shift to an allocation model will take some getting used to, the audit data shows that most residents will not see a change, with nine out of 10 vehicles visiting less than 12 times a year for the disposal of green waste and landfill.
The separate fees that will soon apply for waste types such as bricks and concrete will also ensure the additional costs of managing these specialised materials is borne by those using the service, rather than subsidised through general waste fees and rates.
Ultimately, the shift to a new model is about making use fairer for all residents and ensuring that Council can continue managing the city’s waste sustainably, responsibly, and equitably into the future.
Without introducing an allocation system, the waste utility charge increase for this financial year would have been higher.
The new visit system applies only to mainland centres, with the arrangements already in place on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, Coochiemudlo Island and North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) facilities to remain the same.
For more information on the changes, including a list of FAQs, visit Council’s website.
