Ipswich could stockpile its recycling instead of dumping it in landfill while new "waste to energy" plants are built, Queensland's Deputy Premier Jackie Trad says.
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However, building the facilities could take two years.
Ipswich City Council revealed it had been sending recycling from its residents' yellow lid bins to landfill for four weeks, due, it said, to China's decision to no longer take Australia's recycling waste, and because half of the materials placed in bins was unable to be recycled.
A recycling contractor had asked for $2 million extra a year, which would have led to a 1.5 to 2 per cent rate rise for Ipswich residents.
Responding to the garbage furore, Ms Trad said she would bring forward the introduction of the state government's waste levy, from July 1, 2019, but did not say when it would begin.
"I don't think Queenslanders would expect us to wait a year before we actually do anything on this issue," Ms Trad said.
The LNP Newman government dumped Queensland's waste levy in 2012, which led to New South Wales trucks crossing the border to escape that state's $138-per-tonne charge.
Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the money from the waste levy would be used to build recycling industry, including supporting waste to energy projects.
Waste to energy is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity or heat from the treatment of waste.
Ms Trad said she would like Ipswich City Council to think about storing its recycling, rather than dumping it at the tip.
"So that when these mechanisms come online, when the industry comes online, they have got feed stock available," she said.
"I think Ipswich residents would be quite rightly upset to think that all of the recyclables that they are putting in their yellow top bins are all going in the general waste tip."
Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive Greg Hallam was supportive of the idea of storing recycling.
"This is what happens with a lot of waste now," he said.
"There are stockpiles in all sorts of places, I think you've all seen them with tyres, you've seen them with plastics, you've seen them with glass, we are talking about a cyclical industry."
Mr Hallam said councils needed the certainty that it was worth investing in waste to energy projects.
"With certainty around incomes and all the appropriate approvals from cabinet we can build these plants in two years," he said.
"If we're going to make big investments, hundreds of millions, potentially billions of dollars, we need to know that it can be funded by a waste levy and that if we keep material out of landfill, that we have somewhere to send it, particularly waste to energy or alternative recycling systems."
The waste levy will be included in the next Queensland budget, to be handed down on June 12.
Meanwhile, Ms Enoch said she was surprised when she heard Ipswich Mayor Andrew Antoniolli's comments that the issue was raised and he "mentioned this as a possibility going forward" when cabinet was in Ipswich.
"I found out this week, alongside the rest of Ipswich residents and Queenslanders about that decision by Ipswich council," Ms Enoch said, following a phone call with Cr Antoniolli to clarify his comments.
"That issue had not been raised during that meeting, which [Cr Antoniolli did concede."
Issuing a clarification on Thursday afternoon, Cr Antoniolli said at no time during the community cabinet in Ipswich, which was five weeks ago, did he discuss the current matter of sending recycling to landfill with the Premier, Deputy Premier or Ms Enoch.
"Whilst many and varied discussion points were raised there were fruitful discussions surrounding the matter of landfills and waste management strategies, in particular a waste to energy vision," he said.
"The issue of the recycling contract was not foreseeable at the time of the community cabinet."
