Garden Bags Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich
About The Rubbish Removers
Our goal is to provide a friendly, worry-free, reliable and economical way of removing your waste with one off rubbish removals (mixed rubbish and green waste) and providing a regular garden bag (greenwaste) service.
1984 to Today
We are a family-owned and operated business serving Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich and surrounds.
Every family business has a history. From the dream-filled set-up to the present day, there has been hard work and commitment to make this small business succeed.
The Rubbish Removers started in 1984 with grounds maintenance for Queensland Housing Commission units, builders’ display homes, new housing estates, as well as residential homes.
By 1998, we added our popular Garden Bag service. In 2007, we added our unique skip bins with a competitive “Fill to Level” service – paying only for the amount of rubbish in the bin. We see that both our bins and the “Fill to Level” service have since been copied by local companies! (We shall take that as a form of flattery.)
A hook bin truck was purchased and went into action a few years later to cope with the extra weights and sizes that our clients were asking for.
Recycling Dreams
In 2011, the Department of Environment brought in the “Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011”. It was a long document, and the content of the Act was summarised in the title.
Part of it meant that waste removal businesses would have to pay a levy for dumping at landfill, which would have the flow-on effect of discouraging waste from NSW being brought interstate to Queensland, as well as encouraging recycling.
The levy was to be pooled, with proceeds being made available to help companies moving into recycling fund the costly infrastructure required.
We were delighted. At last, a way to begin recycling. We had seen so much “good stuff” being dumped at landfill from our own skip bins.
All waste removal businesses added this levy to the consumer costs. The levy was paid at the landfill gate or otherwise used to help fund recycling – property lease, local employment, insurances and licences, infrastructure, etc.
In reality, this meant almost all the bins brought into the facility were decanted into various waste streams – green waste, cardboard, metal, clothing, batteries, and the most popular stock for our Saturday opening shop, “Re’s Recycling Shed”.
Our figures and intuition showed there was no profit in recycling. However, as long as it was revenue-neutral, we were happy with the positive non-economic benefits it provided.
Not long after the Waste Legislation commenced, Queensland had a change of Government. The levy effectively ended in July 2012 when it was set to nil. Later, in 2013, the repeal was complete when references to the levy were removed from the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011. And so Queensland’s foray into recycling came to an abrupt halt. ***
For us, the difference between the cost of dumping and the costs of recycling widened until it became apparent that our business could no longer subsidise the recycling overheads and remain competitive with our prices in the skip bin marketplace.
It was a sad day when we closed the doors on “Re’s Recycling Shed”. It had provided a Saturday morning excursion for many people – the chance to have some fun, find a bargain, or get the bits needed to finish current projects; home décor; props for photographers, movie sets, shops and coffee houses.
Many will remember Sandy, Susie and Helena sharing a joke and a laugh with them. And under it all was the knowledge that all that “stuff” was being reused, re-loved and recycled.
To catch a glimpse of some of the treasure, scroll back through the Facebook photos from 2011–2013. You will be astounded at the variety and get a glimpse of the wonderful world of recycling.
*** Update: On 1 July 2019, the Queensland Government reintroduced the waste levy, initially starting at $75 per tonne. The levy has continued since then, with rates changing over time.
In 22 months of recycling The Rubbish Removers achieved
Our recycling dream
January 2022 Update: It’s the end of an era and the start of something new! After many years, we are handing over The Rubbish Removers to a Brisbane-based family who will be continuing The RR’s longstanding tradition of good service and family-run small business values.
Rubbish Removal Services
Rubbish Removal
Garden Bags
Bin Services
Some of the treasure we've recycled
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