Sandbags

Careful placement of correctly-filled sandbags may reduce the amount of water that enters your property during flooding. It is important to understand that sandbags will not stop the water completely.

There are also various other flood mitigation and prevention devices including flood barriers and sandbag-alternatives e.g. reusable flood prevention bags and pillows. We encourage residents and businesses to consider effective prevention devices that best suit their individual circumstances.

Sandbags are available at Council's Transfer Stations. We may activate additional sites during a severe weather event, and those details will be published on Council's Facebook page and Disaster Dashboard.

Managing sandbags after an event

Find out how to manage sandbags after a weather event.

Disposing of sandbags

Return used or unwanted sandbags free of charge to any of Council's four Transfer Stations at Babinda, Gordonvale, Portsmith and Smithfield.  View our Transfer Stations locations and operating hours.

Don't put full sandbags into your kerbside bin. They are too heavy and can damage both the bin and the collection truck.

Don't store or re-use sandbags that have been in contact with floodwater. The sand may contain harmful contaminants so don't empty it onto gardens, lawns or beaches.

Storing unused sandbags

• Store clean, empty sandbags that are in good condition.
• Keep them in a cool, dry place to help prevent degradation.
• Don't store wet sandbags; these can rot.
• Hessian sandbags generally last up to 12 months from first use. Plastic or polypropylene sandbags last even longer.

Other options for unused sandbags

If you have unused sandbags but can't store them for future use, consider:

• spreading sand on lawns and gardens in places where it won’t wash into stormwater drains
• topping up the kids' sandpit
• levelling pavers

You can then dispose of the empty bags in your kerbside red lid/green lid bin.