Queensland and Western Australia are reshaping waste at different speeds. Here is what a business in either state needs to know about the landfill levy, plastics bans and where food-waste rules actually stand.
Queensland and Western Australia are both pushing hard on waste reform, but they are doing it in different ways and at different speeds. If you run a business in Brisbane, Perth, the Gold Coast or anywhere in between, the rules that affect your bins fall into three areas: the landfill levy, single-use plastics, and food waste. Here is where each one actually stands.
Queensland's waste disposal levy is the rule most likely to show up on your invoice. The metropolitan general levy was $125 per tonne in 2025-26 and is legislated to rise by $10 per tonne each year, which puts 2026-27 at $135 per tonne on the way to $145 per tonne from 1 July 2027. Regional Queensland sits lower and moves on its own indexation.
Because the levy is charged per tonne sent to landfill, the climbing rate lands directly on your general-waste bin and gets heavier each year. The way to soften it is the same everywhere: divert the weight. Cardboard and clean recyclables avoid the levy, and food organics, the heaviest material in most bins, avoids it too when sent to an organics service.
Queensland has also set a state recycling target of 65 percent by 2035 under its waste strategy, backed by a large state investment and the GROW FOGO program that is expanding household food-organics collection across councils. That is direction of travel, not a business obligation, but it tells you which way the infrastructure is being built.
Western Australia runs its reform through the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030, which sets targets for waste avoidance and resource recovery rather than business mandates. The Perth metropolitan landfill levy has historically sat lower than the eastern states and rises on a published forward schedule, so confirm the current rate with the WA government before you budget.
On the household side, WA is rolling out the three-bin FOGO system across Perth and Peel councils, and it has passed the milestone of hundreds of thousands of households with access. As with everywhere else, that is a household kerbside program, not a business requirement.
Both states have banned a range of single-use plastics, but the lists are not identical, and this is where businesses get caught out.
Western Australia has gone further than most. Its plan for plastics has progressively banned items including single-use cups, and a hospitality business in WA needs to check the current accepted list carefully. Queensland has also banned a range of single-use plastics across two stages, but its bans and WA's bans do not line up item for item.
The practical rule: do not assume an item banned in one state is banned, or allowed, in the other. Check the live single-use plastics page for your own state government before you reorder packaging or service ware.
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Get your exact priceThis is worth stating plainly. Neither Queensland nor Western Australia legally compels a business to separate food waste. New South Wales is the only state that does, and its first tier has applied to the largest generators since 1 July 2026. In Queensland and WA, food-organics separation is a cost decision a business can choose to make, helped by the fact that diverting food waste cuts the tonnage you pay the landfill levy on.
For Perth businesses the practical door just opened partway: commingled recycling and greens/garden organics wheelie bins are now bookable through Bin Hire Australia across Perth metro, alongside general waste. The Perth organics stream takes garden material rather than food waste, so food-organics diversion in WA still runs through specialist operators. Here is how the new Perth streams work. In Queensland the bookable streams are general waste wheelie bins and front-lift bins, so cardboard and organics diversion there runs through specialist operators for now.
Levies, plastics bans and recovery targets are set by each state government and change over time, often around 1 July. Confirm the current figures and accepted lists with the Queensland Government or the WA government before you rely on them, and remember that neither state imposes a business food-waste mandate.
What is the Queensland landfill levy now? The metropolitan general rate is $135 per tonne for 2026-27 on its legislated path, reaching $145 per tonne on 1 July 2027. Regional Queensland sits lower.
Do Queensland or WA businesses have to separate food waste? No. New South Wales is the only state that legally compels businesses to separate food waste. In Queensland and WA it is optional, though it does cut the tonnage you pay the landfill levy on.
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The metropolitan general levy is $135 per tonne for 2026-27, on its legislated path of $10 per tonne annual rises to $145 per tonne from 1 July 2027. Regional Queensland sits lower and moves on its own indexation.
No. Both states have banned a range of single-use plastics, but the lists do not line up item for item. Western Australia has gone further on some items. Check your own state government's current list before reordering.
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