Legislation to curb the dumping of interstate waste in Queensland must be drafted carefully to avoid breaching the federal constitution, a retired judge has warned.
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Former Supreme Court Justice Peter Lyons was asked to head an investigation into the transport of waste from other states into Queensland in August 2017.
It comes amid revelations New South Wales companies were dumping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rubbish north of the border.
The disposal of rubbish in NSW costs $138 a tonne but it is free in Queensland after the Newman LNP government axed the state's levy in 2012.
Mr Lyons warned Queensland legislation to tackle the issue could be at risk from section 92 of the Australian constitution which required that interstate trade be "absolutely free".
"It is apparent that there would be an obvious and significant risk to any Queensland legislation that sought only to restrict the movement of waste from other states to Queensland," he wrote.
"Or to discriminate between Queensland waste and waste that originated outside of Queensland."
Mr Lyons, whose final report was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday morning, said the obvious way to fix the interstate transport of rubbish would be to reintroduce a landfill levy.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the Queensland government will reintroduce a waste levy.
Mr Lyons said as long as the levy applied to all waste - regardless of type or where it came from - it would appear to be unlikely to fall foul of the Constitution.
"Although advice should be sought from Crown law at the time that any levy scheme is being designed," Mr Lyons said.
Brisbane Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner questioned whether landfill sites which did not accept landfill from interstate would be hit with the levy.
Mr Lyons said a waste levy was likely to discourage the movement of interstate waste into Queensland.
He said there were concerns the movement of interstate waste into Queensland meant finite landfill space was being consumed more quickly.
There was also a concern that waste generated in Queensland was going to landfill because it was cheaper than recovering and recycling it.
Mr Lyons said new laws could also affect the transport of waste within the state.
Almost all of the waste being brought into Queensland from interstate originated in New South Wales, although it appeared it would also be economically beneficial to truck it in from Victoria.
Companies had an incentive to move waste between states because the cost of dumping it in Queensland was cheaper than disposing of it in the origin state, Mr Lyons said.
Mr Lyons recommended a general levy be introduced on all waste disposed of at landfill sites in Queensland, and the state continue to engage with other states and territories about a national framework to limit the transportation of waste.
The value of the levy has not yet been announced, but Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said it would not be less than the $35 per tonne charged in Queensland in 2011.
Ms Trad said there would be consultation about the introduction of the levy.
Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said direct costs to households would be avoided in the design of the levy, following a question from the LNP on whether families taking a skip bin to the tip would be stung by the levy.
"We want to see a levy that is designed to ensure that households will not be impacted," she said.
Ms Enoch said Queensland's levy did not need to be as high as New South Wales' $138 per tonne charge, which was the highest in the nation.
"We're expecting we can be comparable with other states, with the exclusion of New South Wales, we don't need to match New South Wales to be able to send the price signal to those [who engage in] some unscrupulous practices," she said.
Other states' metro levies range between $60 and $87.
Ms Enoch said 27 written submissions made to Mr Lyons' investigation would not be released publicly because "some of those submissions were made in confidence".
A stakeholder advisory group, including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland and Local Government Association of Queensland, will design a whole-of-state strategy on waste recovery, recycling and a levy.
LNP Environment spokesman David Crisafulli described the waste levy as a "a filthy rotten tax on every Queenslander", arguing it could be fixed by a focus on compliance, and policing a small number of dumps which received the majority of interstate waste.
"Whether it be stopping people at the source and working with the New South Wales government or whether it be going to those handful of dumps and making sure they're not taking interstate waste, that's where it starts," he said.
Mr Crisafulli said he believed stopping the waste from New South Wales could be done, despite the constitutional issues.
