Lithgow City Council’s ratepayers may see a $32 increase in rubbish disposal fees in the 2018/2019 period due, in part, to China’s clampdown on imported recyclable waste.
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Polytrade, the company Lithgow’s recyclable waste is delivered to for processing, has applied a $150 gate fee in response to the collapse in demand for recyclables internationally.
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A $15 rebate has also been removed, meaning council is up for an extra $165 per tonne of recyclable waste delivered to the Sydney company by council’s waste collection contractor JR Richards.
Lithgow Council voted to incur the extra costs rather than send the LGA’s recyclable waste to landfill, which a report from council outlined as the only alternative option.
The additional fees, applied by Polytrade from April 1, are estimated to cost council $58,163 this financial year and $232,650 in the next financial year.
This is a national and international issue not just an issue for Lithgow City Council, or any local government body for that matter
- Cr Wayne McAndrews
“This is a national and international issue not just an issue for Lithgow City Council, or any local government body for that matter,” deputy mayor Wayne McAndrew said.
Cr McAndrew successfully moved recommendations at the council meeting to request the state and federal governments develop strategies that recognise, “the necessity of reducing waste and recyclable materials” as well as “enable internal markets to be developed for the use and reprocessing of recyclable materials”.
Lithgow mayor Stephen Lesslie said council would apply for funds from the $47 million package announced by the NSW Government in March to help councils deal with uncertainty in the recycling market.
“We’ve had no feedback yet. We wait in hope for a good outcome,” he said.
The resolution passed by council notes the need for ratepayer costs to increase in 2018/19 if government funding is not forthcoming.
Council has estimated that an extra $32 will need to be applied to each recycling service to cover the new fees, however, council could still incur a shortfall if yellow bin waste increases or further fees are introduced.
CENTROC chairman and Lachlan Shire mayor John Medcalf said he did not know of any councils that have had to suspend their recycling services.
“I think local councils are looking to the state government to get the issue sorted out before it becomes a problem,” Mr Medcalf said.
