Hundreds join conversation about South East Queensland’s waste future

It seems a weekend talking rubbish is a weekend well spent.

More than 300 Gold Coasters streamed through the Ormeau Community Centre on Saturday to attend the Advanced Resource Recovery Centre’s (ARRC) 2026 Community Day.

ARRC Community Day brought together residents of all ages – and from across the Gold Coast – for a day of conversation, hands-on activities and family entertainment.

One of the most popular activities was the seed ball workshops using compost from one of ARRC’s facilities.

The compost, which began as garden waste collected from Gold Coast homes, was returned to the community as an ingredient in seed balls ready to be planted by residents – a hands-on example of ARRC’s circular economy aspirations in action.

ARRC CEO Grant Gabriel said attendance at this year’s Community Day, which represented a significant increase on last year’s event, highlighted growing interest in how the Gold Coast manages its waste.

“Waste is something every household deals with, but most of us don’t spend much time thinking about what happens after the bin is collected,” Mr Gabriel said.

“ARRC Community Day gave people the chance to ask questions directly, look through the project information and better understand what is being proposed.

The seed balls were a great example of resource recovery in everyday terms. What started as garden waste from Gold Coast homes became compost, and that compost is now helping something new to grow.”

“As well as talking to ARRC’s team about the project, attendees took part in nature workshops with Emmy-award winning characters dirtgirl and scrapboy, inspected a real-life waste truck and enjoyed face painting, a Rotary sausage sizzle and coffee.

“More than 300 people chose to spend their Saturday learning about the project and talking with us,” Mr Gabriel said.

“Whether they arrived with a long list of questions or simply wanted to find out a little more, we’re delighted they chose to spend the day with ARRC.”