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Millmerran waste strategy pushed back to May as trial facility hours continue
Toowoomba Regional Council's Water and Waste Committee has recommended delaying the Draft Waste Management Strategy until May 2026 and keeping extended trial hours at the Millmerran Waste Management Facility in place in the meantime.
Toowoomba Regional Council has pushed back consideration of its Draft Waste Management Strategy, with the Water and Waste Committee recommending it now be presented on or before the May 2026 Ordinary Meeting instead of February.
The recommendation, recorded in the committee's 10 February 2026 minutes and later adopted by council on 17 February, also keeps the current trial operating hours at the Millmerran Waste Management Facility in place until the strategy is considered.
For residents around Millmerran, that means the current extended access arrangements at the facility will continue for now. The report said the trial hours began on 4 August 2025 after council closed rural bin stations at Rocky Creek, Bringalily, Kooroongarra, Turrallin and Cypress Gardens/Millmerran Downs.
The committee report said the strategy had taken longer than expected to develop and progress. It said a report on the draft strategy was anticipated to go to the Ordinary Meeting of Council on 19 May 2026.
The same report also updated councillors on a proposed expansion of kerbside bin collection in the district. An expression of interest process closed on 31 August 2025 with 85 responses, but did not reach the required level of support. The report also said council's waste collection contractor was reluctant to support an expanded service area after a site assessment on 5 December 2025, citing operational feasibility of the collection routes.
As a result, the report said a kerbside collection service would not be offered at this time in the affected localities.
The next formal step is for the draft strategy to come before council on or before the May 2026 Ordinary Meeting. Until then, the Millmerran facility's current trial hours are set to remain unchanged.
Reference minutes
Source: Toowoomba Regional Council Water and Waste Committee minutes, 10 February 2026, with the recommendation adopted at the Ordinary Meeting of 17 February 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The Water and Waste Committee on 10 February 2026 recommended the Draft Waste Management Strategy be presented to council on or before the May 2026 Ordinary Meeting.
- The committee also recommended extending the current trial operating hours at the Millmerran Waste Management Facility until the strategy is considered.
- Council adopted the committee recommendation at its Ordinary Meeting on 17 February 2026.
- The Millmerran facility trial hours began on 4 August 2025 after council closed rural bin stations at Rocky Creek, Bringalily, Kooroongarra, Turrallin and Cypress Gardens/Millmerran Downs.
- An expression of interest for expanded kerbside collection closed on 31 August 2025 with 85 responses, but did not achieve the required support threshold.
- A site assessment with council's waste collection contractor on 5 December 2025 found the contractor was reluctant to support expansion because of route feasibility.
Why it matters
- Residents affected by the 2025 closure of rural bin stations in the Millmerran district will wait longer for council's broader waste policy decisions, while continuing to rely on the Millmerran Waste Management Facility under its current trial hours.