Brisbane City Council to offer free green bins, but no food organics bins
Free green bins will be rolled out across Brisbane, according to council plans leaked by the Labor opposition.
LNP councillor Sarah Hutton refused to confirm or deny the leaks, but acknowledged the existence of an army of green bins that could be seen via satellite photos.
Google Maps photos showed hundreds of green bins waiting at Nudgee, Rochedale, and Willawong council depots.
The LNP had hinted it would make a bin-related announcement when the council budget was released on June 18, but Labor announced it before they had a chance.
Labor, LNP and the Greens are now all claiming credit for the green bins idea.
Cr Hutton said she would not say more until June 18, but confirmed "FOGO was a no-go."
FOGO bins are for food waste, whereas green bins are for garden waste such as grass and clippings, which are turned into compost.
Brisbane's green bin program is opt-in, costs a fee, and is only used by 30 per cent of households.
"We'll wait and see what the budget has to say."
Cr Hutton would not say whether the residents who paid for green bin collections would get their money back.
Opposition leader Jared Cassidy claimed Labor deserved the credit for the green bins because they had advocated for it.
Cr Cassidy said the green bin rollout would begin next financial year, but would have happened sooner if not for the council "stalling".
"The amount of organic waste going into landfill is the single biggest contributor to Brisbane's carbon footprint, and all we've seen is years of inaction from this LNP Council," Cr Cassidy said.
"Brisbane should be leading Queensland on green waste services, but instead we've been falling behind other councils like Moreton Bay, which rolled out a city-wide garden organics program last year."
Greens councillor Trina Massey said her party had also been advocating for green bins for many years.
She said the green bins were welcome, but severely inadequate given a lack of FOGO bins to prevent food waste from ending up in landfill.
Cr Massey said the council was unwilling to allocate its budget to food waste diversion, despite the enormous amounts of methane it generated.
"This is more greenwashing by the ALP and the LNP, who are celebrating 'wins' when we are a city not moving forward, unlike other cities that are dealing with food waste," Cr Massey said.
"The reality is we are in a financial budget spiral and the LNP are finding short-term ways to boost their green credentials."
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