Ipswich Residents Help Divert Nearly 10,000 Tonnes of Green Waste from Landfill
Ipswich has marked a major milestone in sustainability, with residents helping to divert almost 10,000 tonnes of green waste from landfill in just six months through the city’s green-lidded garden organics (GO) bin program.
Since mid-2025, more than 56,000 GO bins have been distributed to households across Ipswich. Today, about 90,000 households are participating in the initiative, converting garden waste such as grass clippings, leaves, and hedge trimmings into valuable compost instead of sending it to landfill.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the three-bin system was introduced to help reduce the impact of the Queensland Government’s waste levy. The rollout was made possible by a $5.9 million grant from 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 kept to under 1% during the program’s first six months. Ipswich Waste Services trucks have collected 9,872 tonnes of GO material from more than 530,000 bin loads, which has been processed into compost products used for food production, gardens, and landscaping.
“This initiative has helped avoid carbon emissions equivalent to those generated by 2,000 cars in one year,” Mayor Harding said. “It’s been an overwhelmingly positive start to the three-bin system for our city as we respond to the Queensland Government’s levy on councils, which is set to rise in coming years.”
Environment and Sustainability Committee Chairperson, Councillor Jim Madden, credited the program’s success to strong 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.
The adoption of the three-bin system is estimated to save each household around $10, compared to the costs under the previous two-bin system as the State Government’s waste levy continues to climb. Participation in the GO bin program continues to increase, with 60% of bins presented for collection in December, up from 48% in November.
English