A three-month independent investigation is being launched into the dumping of interstate waste in Queensland, increasing to one million tonnes a year to the state.

Ipswich was labelled the dumping capital of the state's south-east and its Acting Mayor, Paul Tully, said he hoped the investigation would reduce the truckloads of landfill coming in from New South Wales.

"Hopefully the people of Ipswich will have much less waste coming into our city," he said.

"We know that it is coming illegally from NSW."

Mr Tully called his city the "dumping capital of south-east Queensland" and called for action only last week. ( ABC News: Melanie Vujkovic )

The investigation was triggered by a Four Corners report, which exposed an organised network of waste transporting and freighting companies allegedly sending waste by road and rail to Queensland, to avoid a NSW landfill levy of $138 per tonne.

Trade is so lucrative the industry estimates the amount of construction and demolition waste being transported to Queensland has reached about 1 million tonnes a year, almost double official government figures from the past financial year.

The report included allegations that interstate operators had dumped waste in disused mine sites.

Residents in south-east Queensland, where multiple dumps are located, have told Four Corners they are increasingly concerned about what is being tipped down the old mine sites surrounding them.

The inquiry will look at options to reform the waste industry and measures to crack-down on illegal behaviour.

The Newman government abolished the landfill levy in Queensland and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has ruled out bringing it back this term, although has not ruled out its return if Labor wins at the next state election.

It is cheaper to truck waste to Queensland than it is to dispose of it and pay the levy in the state where it is generated.

Queensland has become known as "the dumping capital of Australia".

Waste levy won't be reinstated

Environment Minister Steven Miles said there were no plans for a waste levy to be introduced in Queensland, even if it was recommended in the review.

He said the Government had categorically ruled out a levy in the final months of the current term, and there were no discussions about making it an election issue for the next term.

"This investigation will be headed with someone with really advanced legal expertise, hopefully a former judge," he said.

"They'll look at all of these options, work out what we can and can't do under the constitution and also how we can do it so that it is constitutional.

"Our commitment stands that we won't be introducing any new taxes, fees or charges."

Mr Miles said road inspections following the Four Corners program had seen about 60 trucks pulled over, but only one of those had been identified as suspicious and warranted further investigation.

The three-month investigation will canvass illegal practices and possible breaches of regulations, the need for regulatory reform, incentives for movement of waste from other states and means of prevention.

It will also examine the roles of other states and the Commonwealth in the management of waste.

It is not yet clear who will lead the investigation, which is due to report back to the Queensland Government in mid-November.

Investigation to tackle illegal practises

Ms Palaszczuk met with waste industry representatives on Monday to discuss long-term waste strategies which resulted in the investigation.

"I want to send a clear message to interstate waste generators and companies that Queensland is not a free-for-all," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"We need to better understand the actions of those who haul waste several hundred kilometres to Queensland, what response we can make and whether national action is required.

"Not only is interstate waste haulage unnecessary, it can be unsafe. We also need to question the potential cost to Queensland taxpayers and the environment."

An Opposition spokesman said the investigation was a political ploy.

"Yet another review?" he said.

"Given Annastacia Palaszczuk has known about it since 2010, this is a new low in this do-nothing Labor Government."

Watch the Four Corners episode Trashed: The Dirty Truth About Your Rubbish on iview.