Huge tip fees hike

By Kath Gannaway
RESIDENTS will ultimately bear the brunt of a massive 233 per cent increase in the State Government’s landfill levy on Yarra Ranges Council.
If the full increase were to be passed on to residents at the tip-face, the cost of dumping a cubic metre of rubbish at Healesville or Wesburn tips would increase from $60 to $140.
The Eastern Region Mayors Group, which represents 10 municipalities including Yarra Ranges, wrote to Premier John Brumby questioning the magnitude and the timing of the increase in the levy from $9 per tonne to $30 per tonne.
The levy is a government charge on councils for the rubbish transferred from local council tips to the Lyndhurst tip.
RMG spokesman, Knox Mayor Joe Cossari said there was no consultation on the increase, which comes at a time when councils are in the process of finalising draft budgets for community consultation.
Cr Cossari said the magnitude and timing of the increase in landfill levies was expected to have a critical impact on the budgets, resulting in some municipalities in significant last-minute increases in council rates and local tip fees.
Yarra Ranges Mayor Len Cox said the increase came as a complete surprise to Yarra Ranges Council.
He said however that with the annual budget already done, residents would not see the increase passed on in 2010/11 charges.
“It’s more than trebling the price of what we are paying and in theory you would pass it on, but in practice we have done our budget for next year so the shortfall will just comes out of something else we were going to spend the money on,” he said.
He warned however that ratepayers would wear the extra cost eventually.
A State Government spokesman told the Mail the increase would cost householders just 20 cents a week and would lead to greater recycling, the creation of almost 700 jobs over the next five years and a massive reduction in the amount of waste ending up in landfill.
“Victorians are already very good at recycling but there is more we can do,” he said.
He said the restructure would drive investment in better collection and sorting systems to take recyclables from household and industry out of landfill and into recycling facilities.”
Cr Cox said he was not convinced however by the rationale for the sudden increase.
“Their excuse is that it will encourage more people to recycle more,” he said. “I can’t see that that will work as well as they claim.”
On the question of whether increased tip fees could instead lead to more of the rubbish dumping which has caused concern across the shire at various times in recent years, Cr Cox was aghast at even the possibility.
“I would certainly hope not. It would be like dumping rubbish in your own back yard,” he said labelling it a disgraceful act, which he said only a tiny percentage of the community would ever do.
“They’re just grubs really,” he added.