Free disposal of recalled coloured sand at Gatton Landfill

Lockyer Valley Regional Council has given the green light for the free disposal of recalled coloured sand products that may contain small traces of asbestos.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently issued a nationwide recall of a range of coloured sand products after traces of naturally occurring asbestos were detected.

The products were sold at retailers such as Kmart, Target and Officeworks.

Council’s Portfolio Councillor for Waste Management, Cr Julie Reck said recalled coloured sand would be accepted at the Gatton Waste Disposal Facility on Fords Road, only.

“While residents can dispose of sand for free under the current fees and charges, Council is waiving the disposal fee for early childcare centres and schools until 18 February 2026, inclusive.

“The customer will need to advise the gatehouse operator they’re disposing of the coloured sand so it can be inspected and recorded appropriately. The operator will then direct the customer to the disposal location.

“Our message to the community is the exemption applies only to educational establishments that can’t return the product, and where they are accompanied with a form of identification to link them to the centre or school (staff ID, uniform, accompanying letter, or similar),” Cr Reck said.

To be accepted, the product/s must be double wrapped in heavy-duty plastic (minimum 0.2mm thick), taped closed and labelled ‘contains asbestos’. Coloured sand with damaged or open plastic wrapping will not be accepted.

To read the safety alert and see which brands and products are affected, visit https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/news-and-events/alerts