Myths v Facts about the application

Seperate the fact from fake news - check out our mythbusters below.

Myth: This is a landfill for household rubbish. 

Fact: No household or organic waste will be accepted. Only non-putrescible construction and demolition materials—meaning minimal odour, minimal contamination, and no general landfill. 

Myth: Nothing has changed from the original 2014 proposal. 

Fact: This proposal has been reviewed and refined in the following way.  

1. The production output of the RCKRA Project has been reduced by 40% from 2Mtpa to 1.2Mtpa, thereby reducing heavy vehicle movements on the western side of the M1. This, in turn, reduces the extent of noise and air quality impacts associated with the RCKRA Project.  

2. Reducing the total disturbance footprint of the proposal by 20% from 70.5ha to 56.4ha. This reduction has been achieved through the development of an alternative overburden strategy involving the proposed WBCWRR Project. This, in turn, reduces the impacts on mapped environmental values and corridor functionality.  

3. The overburden from the RCKRA Project will be used to support the establishment of the WBCWRR Project, which involves the use of residual non-putrescible construction waste streams to rehabilitate the existing quarry voids in a timely manner. 

4. The infrastructure area has been reduced by approximately 8.4ha in response to a reduced production output and overburden being transferred to the WBCWRR Project for beneficial reuse in the rehabilitation of the existing quarry void. 

5. 176.1ha1 of Boral’s landholding identified as land for environmental purposes will be conserved, protected, enhanced and managed to improve ecological health and functionality of the Burleigh Heads – Springbrook Hinterland to Coast Critical Corridor (HCC Corridor) and positively contribute to the habitat of the local koala population and other fauna species. 

6. The extraction boundary has been revised to minimise impacts on the mapped 30m waterway buffer associated with the east-west gully of Oyster Creek, located within the southern part of the RCKRA Project site. 

7. Pit development and rehabilitation strategies have been altered to ensure that Ridge J (a ridgeline that traverses through the RCKRA disturbance footprint) can remain in place longer, and terminal benches are developed earlier to facilitate much earlier progressive rehabilitation to ensure that a ‘green’ backdrop can be maintained. This improves the extent of visual impacts associated with this proposed development. 

This proposal now combines the establishment of two strategic infrastructure sites that seeks to: 

1. unlock the identified Key Resource Area 96 to secure into the future continued local supply of affordable construction material essential to support housing and infrastructure required to meet the Gold Coast’s significant growth; and  
2. positively contribute to the sustainable waste management solutions for the city and at the end of its operating life provide more land for industrial and other employment generating activities.  

Together, this proposal delivers a smarter, more integrated and sustainable solution for the Gold Coast: 

1. A modern quarry with a smaller footprint, fewer truck movements, and delivering better localised environmental outcomes. 
2. A dedicated construction waste landfill and resource recovery centre to support the Gold Coast’s constrained landfill capacity and supporting recycling and resource recovery.

Myth: This will increase traffic on the M1. 

Fact: Through continuing the local supply of aggregates from the RCKRA Project, it will avoid the need to transport aggregates from northern Gold Coast to meet increasing demand and the need for approximately 31,000 additional truck movements on the M1.

Myth: This project ignores environmental concerns.  

Fact: Our revised proposal prioritises environmental protection and long-term habitat health. We’ve reduced the disturbance footprint, will use overburden for rehabilitation, and are implementing a range of mitigation measures to secure a better outcome when compared to the existing state and condition of the Project sites that would not otherwise be possible if the proposed development does not proceed, or if it did proceed, incorporating an environmental offset in another location. 

To deliver a localised net environmental benefit on the land identified for environmental purposes on both Project sites and intervening public lands within the mapped HCC Corridor, a suite of localised environmental mitigation actions has been developed. 

A key focus of these localised environmental mitigation actions include conservation, protection and enhancement of 168ha of land identified for environmental purposes, which includes an important wildlife corridor within the southern part of the RCKRA Project. 

Myth: These projects don’t support sustainability.

Fact: Our proposal is designed with sustainability at its core. It rehabilitates land responsibly, reuses overburden to restore quarry voids, and boosts recycling of construction material by reprocessing and reusing concrete and asphalt for new construction materials. This approach meets government mandates for recycled materials, reduces emissions from transport, and supports a circular economy for building resources.

Myth: The Reedy Creek site is virgin, pristine hinterland.

Fact: This is not pristine land. It was extensively cleared and farmed in the 1970s and is now mostly regrowth that is significant impacted by unauthorised 4WD and motorbike access and illegal rubbish dumping. It is not community green space – it is designated a Key Resource Area (KRA) by the Queensland Government over 20 years ago to ensure vital construction materials remain accessible. The 2017 Court appeal concluded that “it is a state asset and ought to be protected for future exploration.”