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Tasmania’s Landfill Levy: starts July 1

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The new landfill levy is a fee paid by Tasmania’s landfill operators for every tonne of waste disposed in their landfill. Waste is weighed at time of delivery and a $20/tonne fee is collected by the State Government.

The Tasmanian Government’s landfill levy starts from 1 July 2022.

The money raised through the levy is being reinvested in Tasmania’s recycling, composting and resource recovery services, facilities and infrastructure. By having more and better waste services in more places across Tasmania, it will be easier to put landfilling last on the list when deciding what to do with our waste.

Less waste in landfill – it’s the way to go.

How to minimise your landfill levy?

Choose to recycle, repair, and re-use as much as possible. We can also make choices when shopping to avoid excess packaging, find ways to compost food and garden waste, and donate or sell re-usable items.

Look for products and packaging that avoids creating landfill waste by swapping products which would normally end up in landfill for those that can be recycled or composted instead.

Find tips to Avoid – Reduce – Reuse – Recycle here…..ARRR!

Kerbside recycling is the most visible recycling service for most Tasmanians, but it is just the tip of the iceberg for reducing landfill waste and minimising Tasmania’s Landfill Levy.

There are many other recycling and resource recovery services supported by Product Stewardship Schemes and by businesses motivated by their environmental and social responsibilities.

Most are free, or low cost, and cover common waste items that are not suitable for kerbside recycling. This includes electronic waste – including TVs, mobile phones and power cables.

Even products made from a mix of different materials which traditionally didn’t have the technology to be salvaged and reused can now be processed through programs such as Upparel for textiles and TerraCycle for composite plastics.

Add to this the growing popularity of Repair Cafes, op-shopping, Buy Nothing and Swap groups, bulk food stores, and our love of Garage Sales and it becomes apparent that there are more ways than not for us all to reduce landfill waste!

So, explore what services are available and let’s all be good sorts with waste in Tasmania.

* Note – soft plastics are currently not being accepted for recycling after the postponement of the REDcycle program in November 2022. We will keep you informed of updates to soft plastics recycling in due course.

What about bulky waste items?

Electronic goods, car bodies, tyres, green waste and other bulky items can be safely disposed or recycled – and for less than you might think. Some councils offer Hard Waste Collection days or Discounted Tip Disposal days to help with household clean-ups. Contact your council to see what services and assistance are available.

Here’s a summary of the bulk item waste services in each region:

Bulky Waste Services in the Cradle Coast

Bulky Waste Services in Northern Tasmania

Bulky Waste Services in Southern Tasmania

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