IPSWICH City Council has taken the next step towards refreshing its Waste and Circular Economy Transformation Policy, voting to review the landmark strategy that has shaped the city’s campaign for stronger waste regulation and better community protections over the past five years.
Widely credited as a turning point in Ipswich’s long battle with the waste industry, the directive will now undergo a structured review process that includes officer input, councillor workshops and potentially external expert advice.
Mayor Teresa Harding, who presented the item in her Mayoral Minute during last week’s Council Meeting, said the directive had empowered Council to drive meaningful change.
“For a decade, residents endured the negative impacts of the waste industry using Ipswich as its dumping ground,” Cr Harding said.
“Their concerns about odour, health impacts and lack of enforcement were left unresolved for years.”
She said the strategy had underpinned a decisive shift in the city’s approach.
“Council and our community have been at the forefront of significant change,” she said.
“We’ve pushed for stronger legislation, we’ve pushed for compliance, and we’ve delivered real outcomes for residents who had suffered for far too long.”
Major achievements highlighted include legislative reforms requiring organics processors to enclose operations, increased air-quality monitoring, strengthened court enforcement against non-compliant operators, and the permanent closure of Cleanaway’s New Chum facility after the 2022 odour incident.
Council has also defeated landfill expansion efforts in court and progressed its own service reforms, such as returning glass to household recycling, rolling out green waste bins, and planning a regional materials recovery facility.
“We’ve come a long way in five years, but there is far more work to be done,” Cr Harding said.
“This next step is about maintaining momentum and ensuring Ipswich continues moving toward a cleaner, fairer, more sustainable future.”
Despite broad consensus about the need to continue the work, several councillors expressed unease about the process.
Councillor Andrew Antonelli said councillors had received only a one-page report on the day of the meeting.
“That’s not the basis for good governance or good decision-making,” he said.
He pushed for a workshop to ensure councillors could fully understand the implications.
Cr Jim Madden agreed.
“The first I heard about this was today. I’m not criticising the intention – it’s a worthy motion – but a matter of this scale deserves discussion in a workshop so we can properly understand what we’re deciding,” Cr Madden
said.
Councillor Paul Tully proposed amending the language to keep options open.
“Changing ‘develop’ to ‘consider’ keeps the process open and allows us to explore whether a new policy or a revised strategy is the right path,” he said.
Mayor Harding accepted the amendment, which also required officer briefings and workshops to guide the next stage.
