Sunshine Coast tip fees and transfer station hours (2026)

How tip fees work on the Sunshine Coast

There is no free general waste disposal on the Sunshine Coast. Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa Council both charge at the gate, and the price depends on three things: what kind of waste it is, how big the load is, and who is bringing it in. Your council rates don't cover it. Sunshine Coast Council calls it user pays.

For a load under 500kg, the gate staff look at the volume and charge a small, medium or large rate. Anything over 500kg goes over the weighbridge and is charged by the tonne. Mixed loads are charged at the general waste rate, so a trailer of garden clippings with a broken chair thrown on top costs the same as a trailer of household rubbish. Sorting your load before you go is the easiest way to pay less.

We do tip runs for our rubbish removal customers all over the Coast, so this guide sets out the published hours and fees, and then explains how we handle the tip fee when you book us.

Sunshine Coast Council tips and opening hours

Sunshine Coast Council runs eight waste facilities. The four big sites at Beerwah, Buderim, Caloundra and Nambour are open every day of the year except Christmas Day. The smaller hinterland transfer stations open on set days only.

As published by the council on 3 October 2026. Source: Sunshine Coast Council, Waste and recycling facilities. Hours and fees change, so check the council page before you go.

A few site notes from the same page. Every site is closed on Christmas Day. Payment is by EFTPOS or credit card, and cheques are not accepted. Buderim does not take trucks carrying general waste unless the load is hand unloaded. Nambour does not accept trucks and waste over 4.5 tonnes, and the council asks vehicles over 4.5 tonnes GVM to use Caloundra while the Nambour landfill upgrade continues. Closed-in shoes are compulsory at all sites.

Sunshine Coast Council fees for loads under 500kg

These are the 2026-27 transfer station charges for household (domestic) loads, from the council's own brochure. The council describes a small load as up to an average sedan boot or half a small trailer (two wheelie bins at most, about 0.5 cubic metres), a medium load as up to about 1 cubic metre such as a full normal trailer or a full ute tray, and a large load as anything bigger than 1 cubic metre but under 500kg.

As published by the council on 3 October 2026. Source: Transfer station waste disposal charges 2026-27 (PDF). Hours and fees change, so check the council page before you go.

Single items and free drop-offs

As published by the council on 3 October 2026. Source: Transfer station waste disposal charges 2026-27 (PDF). Hours and fees change, so check the council page before you go.

Green waste is not free on the Sunshine Coast, and the council says so directly on its facilities page. It is much cheaper than general waste, though, so keep it separate. The council also suggests a second garden organics bin if you fill one regularly. Re-usable and recyclable items dropped in the sorting area are free. The council also runs recycle markets at Buderim, Caloundra, Beerwah, Witta and Mapleton, selling second-hand furniture, homewares and building materials.

Noosa Council: the Noosa Resource Recovery Centre at Doonan

If you live in Noosa Shire (Noosa Heads, Noosaville, Tewantin, Sunshine Beach and surrounds), your tip is Noosa Council's. The main site is the Noosa Resource Recovery Centre at 561 Eumundi Noosa Road, Doonan, open 7am to 5pm daily and closed Christmas Day. Noosa also runs smaller transfer stations at Cooroy (191 Mary River Road, 8am to 1pm Saturday, Sunday and Monday) and Pomona (14 Pomona Kin Kin Road, 8am to 1pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday), which have their own fee sheet and do not take building materials.

As published by the council on 3 October 2026. Sources: Noosa Council, Waste and Resource Recovery Centres and 2026-2027 Waste disposal charges, Eumundi Road landfill (PDF). Commercial and construction waste have higher rates on the same sheet.

Noosa lists a longer free drop-off list than most: e-waste, paint, degassed white goods, motor oil, cooking oil, batteries, scrap metal, comingled recycling, cardboard, domestic chemicals, polystyrene and empty gas bottles.

Why a business pays more at the gate

This part matters if you are comparing doing it yourself against booking someone. The Queensland waste levy applies to commercial customers even when the waste comes from a home, and Sunshine Coast Council's levy page lists residents who engage a business to deposit waste to landfill as one of the cases it covers. The same page says residents taking their own household rubbish to the tip do not pay it. Under those rules, household rubbish that a business brings in counts as commercial, which is charged at the commercial rate in the table above, higher than the domestic rate.

How Pickup Pals handles the tip fee

When you book rubbish removal with us, your price has two parts. The service fee covers the labour, the ute and our time, including the trip to the tip. The tip fee is whatever the tip charges us for your load, passed on at cost with no markup. We don't quote you a tip figure upfront because the gate decides it on the day, by load size or weight and by what's in it.

Saturdays are weekday prices times 1.5, with the truck crew only. We don't do rubbish removal on Sundays. Full rates are on the prices page, and the same pricing family covers green waste removal and mattress removal.

Do it yourself, or book us? An honest answer

If you have a ute or a trailer, a free hour, and a small load you can lift on your own, take it to the tip yourself. A small domestic load at a Sunshine Coast Council tip is $20 at the published rate, green waste is cheaper again, and you pay the domestic rate rather than the commercial one. Our minimum is well above that, and we'd rather tell you than take a booking you didn't need.

Booking us starts to make sense when you don't have a vehicle that will carry it, when the items are heavy or awkward (a fridge, a sofa bed, a stack of old furniture), when it's more than one trip, or when your time is worth more than the drive and the queue. It also makes sense when the load is mixed and you'd have to sort it to save money, because we do the loading and unloading for you.

Moving house at the same time? We can take the unwanted items on the same day as the move. See furniture removals.

Sources

• Sunshine Coast Council: Waste and recycling facilities (locations, hours, payment, green waste FAQ)
• Sunshine Coast Council: Transfer station waste disposal charges 2026-27 (PDF)
• Sunshine Coast Council: Waste levy frequently asked questions
• Sunshine Coast Council: Recycling and waste disposal
• Noosa Council: Waste and Resource Recovery Centres
• Noosa Council: 2026-2027 Waste disposal charges, Eumundi Road landfill (PDF)

All figures checked against the council sources on 3 October 2026.