Circular Economy at Scale
Queensland’s circular economy is often discussed through the lens of household recycling, kerbside bins and individual behaviour change. While these elements remain important, the latest Recycling and Waste in Queensland Report 2024–25 tells a different and far more consequential story.
The strongest gains in recovery are not coming from households. They are coming from commercial, industrial, and construction systems. These are the same systems that underpin Queensland’s mining, energy and renewable sectors.
This shift matters. It signals that the future of circularity in Queensland will be shaped by large-scale, integrated resource systems rather than incremental changes alone.
Waste is still growing, but recovery is accelerating
In 2024–25, Queensland generated 10.25 million tonnes of headline waste, an increase of 4.5 per cent on the previous year. This growth closely mirrors population growth of 2.3 per cent and economic growth of 2.4 per cent over the same period, reinforcing the link between economic activity and material consumption.
More importantly, recovery is improving.
A total of 5.92 million tonnes of waste was recovered, representing a 5.7 per cent increase year on year. The overall recovery rate rose to 57.8 per cent, up from 57.1 per cent the year before.
While this may appear incremental, at an industrial scale these gains represent hundreds of thousands of tonnes of material being kept in productive use rather than lost to landfill.
Industrial sectors are leading the circular transition
The most significant recovery improvements were recorded in:
Commercial and industrial waste, with a 0.7 per cent increase in recovery rates
Construction and demolition waste, with a 1.7 per cent increase in recovery rates
These sectors share common characteristics with mining and energy operations. They are asset-intensive, material-heavy and highly systems-driven. This alignment explains why circular economy principles are gaining traction faster in these environments than in municipal waste streams.
By contrast, recovery rates for municipal solid waste, including household waste, declined by a further 0.1 per cent. Less than one third of household waste was recovered in 2024–25.
This contrast highlights an important insight. Circular economy outcomes improve when recovery is designed into systems, processes and infrastructure rather than relying solely on individual behaviour.
Processing materials locally strengthens resilience
One of the strongest indicators of circular maturity is where recovered materials are processed.
In 2024–25, 80 per cent of recovered materials were processed within Queensland. This represents a significant retention of value within the state economy, supporting local processing capability, industrial employment and supply chain resilience.
For the resources and energy sectors, local processing aligns directly with existing priorities such as sovereign capability, reduced transport emissions, and greater control over material inputs and outputs.
A circular economy that processes materials locally is not only more sustainable. It is more resilient, more competitive and better positioned to support long-term industrial growth.
Energy recovery is scaling rapidly
One of the most notable shifts in this year’s data is the rapid growth of energy recovery.
Approximately 208,000 tonnes of waste were sent to energy recovery in 2024–25, more than double the amount recorded the previous year. This includes materials such as timber, green waste, food waste, tyres, oils and industrial residues.
This trend reinforces the role of energy from waste as part of a broader renewable and low-emissions energy mix. When appropriately regulated and integrated, energy recovery can reduce landfill volumes while converting residual materials into usable energy.
For mining and renewable energy sectors, this represents a familiar concept. It mirrors existing practices around by-product utilisation, waste heat recovery and lifecycle optimisation of energy assets.
Landfill remains a challenge
Despite recovery improvements, landfill volumes increased.
A total of 4.33 million tonnes of waste were landfilled in 2024–25, an increase of over 121,000 tonnes from the previous year. This included more than 57,000 tonnes of disaster-related waste.
This reinforces a critical point. Circular economy progress is not linear, and it is highly sensitive to population growth, infrastructure capacity and extreme weather events.
Reducing reliance on landfill will require continued investment in recovery infrastructure, market development for secondary materials, and innovation in how residual waste streams are managed.
What this means for mining, energy and renewables
The data points to a clear conclusion. Queensland’s circular economy is already being shaped by industrial systems, not just municipal programs.
For the resources and energy sectors, this presents an opportunity to:
Accelerate by-product reuse and industrial symbiosis
Integrate circular design into infrastructure and asset lifecycles
Expand energy recovery and low-emissions processing pathways
Strengthen collaboration across sectors and supply chains
Mining and renewable energy projects are uniquely positioned to operate at the scale required to deliver meaningful circular outcomes. Their long asset lives, material flows and technical expertise align naturally with circular economy principles.
Building the next phase of Queensland’s circular economy
The transition to a circular economy will not be driven by a single solution. It will be built through coordinated action across policy, industry and innovation ecosystems.
Queensland’s latest waste and recovery data demonstrates that progress is possible when circular thinking is embedded into systems rather than treated as an add-on.
The challenge now is to accelerate this momentum, particularly by leveraging the leadership, scale and innovation capacity of the resources and energy sectors.
A truly circular economy for Queensland will be industrial, collaborative and designed for long-term value creation.`
Source: Queensland Government, Recycling and Waste in Queensland Report 2024–25.
https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/waste-reduction-recycling/data-reports/recycling-waste