Dumping on tip users

FEARS that Clarence Valley residents were going to be ripped off by State Government charges on tip fees appear to have been realised with the release of the Clarence Valley Council’s budget.

The budget shows Clarence residents paid more than $240,000 in government charges to use the tip in the past financial year, but only received about $93,000 in benefits in return.

Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson said the charges were a blatant cash grab.

“If they want the levy, they should let us have the money to spend on the community,” he said.

Figures contained in the council’s 2010/11 budget adopted this week show the New South Wales government will claim $805,000 in levies from the Grafton Regional Landfill with the rebate to the Clarence Valley Council a mere $180,000.

The State Government’s waste and environment levy is $20.40 a tonne to dump rubbish at the tip – charged on top of the council’s fees.

This amount is set to rise each financial year for the next five years until it reaches a capped price of $70 a tonne.

Cr Williamson said the additional costs could not be absorbed into the current council budget, so they would have to be added to the waste levy in rates.

“If costs get too high, people will just start dumping their rubbish beside the road or burn it,” he said.

“The council is very concerned about illegal dumping.”

Cr Williamson said the council had lobbied the State Government for reform, with little success.

“We have made our feelings known,” he said.

At the New South Wales Shires Association Conference in Sydney last month, the Clarence Valley Council raised the issue with the backing of other councils, urging for review.

“We still have no response as of yet,” Cr Williamson said.

Clarence Valley Council sustainable services co-ordinator Ken Wilson confirmed the council was concerned about illegal dumping.

“There have been fairly major prosecutions recently and it is just not worth it,” he said.

“The council is providing incentives to reduce waste and introduce programs to recover landfill for re-use and recycling.

“It is a real shame we didn’t have all of the funds returned from the levy to spend on new and improved waste and sustainability initiatives.”

A spokesperson for New South Wales Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Frank Sartor said increasing tip fees encouraged recycling.

“The more people recycle, the less they pay in the levy,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said the levy was working, as amounts of recycled materials and the rate of waste diverted from landfill to recycling were going up each year.