The City of Logan wants to be greener, and councillors have used the new budget to allocate the funds to make their goal to be carbon neutral by the end of 2022 a reality.

In partnership with Ipswich and Redland councils, Logan will be the place for a state-of-the-art recycling facility to be built at Browns Plains. This project is pending a tender process and subject to Queensland and Australian government funding.

The idea is that the facility could process up to 60,000 tonnes annually of materials from yellow-lid recycling bins and significantly reduce landfill volumes. Council has allocated $9 million towards the potential project in this budget.

While this project is still in the pipeline, the council has come up with a new approach to recycling mattresses to reduce landfill and increase recycling. This will also help to extend the lifespan of the Browns Plains waste and recycling facility.

More than 10,000 mattresses are dumped each year in the City of Logan with each one taking up nearly a cubic metre of landfill space.

A new recycling process will harvest nearly 10kg of scrap metal from each mattress along with shredded fabric and foam which also have recycling potential.

Significantly, the recycling process ensures the landfill space needed for a discarded mattress is reduced by 98 percent.

All the green projects come at a cost and the money will be used from the Environmental Levy from all rateable properties. This levy increases by $7 to $87.40 per property.

Mayor Darren Power said the City of Logan would be one of the first local governments in Australia to operate as carbon neutral.

“Our residents have always been passionate about recycling, reducing our carbon footprint and protecting our natural environment,” Councillor Power said.

“We have led the way recently with a range of exciting environmental projects and Council is strongly committed to continued investment in green initiatives.”

Council applies an annual Environmental Levy to all rateable properties (some exemptions apply) to fund environmental projects and activities.

Projects include:

• Measures to ensure Council achieves net zero and retains certified carbon neutrality status
• Logan River and Albert River Visions projects and initiatives
• Land acquisitions to help preserve wildlife habitats and biodiversity corridors
• Environmental Conservation Partnerships, Land for Wildlife, environmental education, community grants and events (including the annual Eco Forum and LEAF)
• Bushland maintenance, Bushcare and the planting of thousands of native trees, shrubs and grasses

Other ‘green’ initiatives in this year’s budget include:

• A new polystyrene recycling service at Browns Plains
• Installation of solar panels at three additional Council-owned sites to add to the 2.5 megawatts of solar capacity now in operation
• Delivery of a three-year Illegal Dumping and Litter Enforcement Strategy led by Council’s Illegal Dumping Taskforce
• Establishing a Stormwater Channel Naturalisation Framework to identify potential for conversion of suitable storm water channels into more natural waterways – led by an initial trial in Sturdee Park at Loganlea