Call for higher rubbish levy

Timaru District Council wants the Government to increase the landfill levy from $10 a tonne to more than $60 a tonne.

The Government is proposing sweeping changes to waste management, which includes looking at how councils fund their waste programmes.

A member of the public pays up to $220 a tonne to dump their rubbish at the Redruth landfill, of which part of the $10 a tonne levy goes back into the community to pay for council recycling infrastructure and projects.

However, in a submission to the Government, the council has asked it to increase the levy to as much as $60 a tonne by 2023, which is the maximum the Government proposes.

Council waste management manager Ruth Clarke told The Timaru Herald the waste levy is a government charge ‘‘so it will be passed on in full to the customer’’.

‘‘This means if the levy increases by $60 [a tonne], the weighbridge charge will increase by $60,’’ Clarke said.

‘‘Future use of the waste levy needs to be planned for in the Long Term Plan and approved in consultation with the public, but it is expected that education and behaviour change programmes, as well as increased public and business support, will be put forward as ideas.

‘‘The intention will be to support waste minimisation so that the levy increase is offset by changes possible in behaviour.

‘‘We believe that increasing and expanding the landfill levy is the most powerful tool available to the Government,’’ the submission, written by Clarke, says.

‘‘The current $10 a tonne levy is too low to be effective at improving waste reduction behaviour for individuals, households, commercial groups and manufacturers.’’

At Tuesday’s infrastructure committee meeting, Clarke told councillors that in may parts of Australia, the levy was as high as $100 a tonne.

‘‘You’ve got to set it at a rate that encourages better behaviour,’’ Clarke said.

However, the submission also acknowledged a significant rise in the levy could heighten the potential for fly tipping.

‘‘To offset this risk, it is important that waste minimisation initiatives ... are well designed and ready for implementation with the levy increase,’’ the submission says.

‘‘The benefits of these levyfunded projects must be visible and accessible to public and commercial users ... to help offset potential dissatisfaction with the rising costs.’’

It also notes the direct cost of a higher levy will be borne by landfill operators, and if the levy rises to $20 a tonne, and the tonnage of waste remains the same, the council would pay levies of about $700,000. A $60 a tonne levy would result in about $2 million of charges.

However, the council also supports ‘‘the development of a levy investment plan, and strongly recommends the continuance of the 50/50 division of the levy funds between territorial authorities and the Waste Minimisation Fund’’.

‘‘In line with council’s current approach, the increased levy would be passed onto users by way of gate charges at the transfer stations and the targeted waste management rate for kerbside collection,’’ the submission says.

Clarke told councillors that since it introduced the three-bin kerbside recycling system in 2006, it has managed to extend the life of the landfill from about 12 years to 25-27 years.

‘‘We have continuously added activities ... what the increased levy will do is enable us to fund those activities and make the landfill space last longer,’’ Clarke said.