Big changes ahead for rubbish charging system

Now big changes are to be made to the Council's refuse station charging system - to help achieve the vision of zero waste by 2020.

From mid-April, rather than paying a set rate for each trailer or car, residents will be charged by weight of the material that they dump, instead of recycling.

In recent years, average weights of refuse in domestic trailers and cars have been increasing. This has resulted in commercial users paying disproportionately more per tonne for waste disposal than domestic customers.

The new system will also encourage waste minimisation because people who separate their reusable/ /recyclable waste, including waste for composting, will end up paying less then those who do not.

The system is designed to avoid burying useful material in the landfill.

The changes include:

• Trailer and car payment by weight at the refuse stations from mid-April.
• Drive-through trailer and car sorting.
• Those who produce the waste will pay the true cost of disposal. The Council Waste Management Unit and the Recovered Materials Foundation will promote trailer sorting and recycling through a local media personality. Under the new system small, light loads will cost less than under the old system, but heavy loads will cost more
• The current average trailer load of refuse is about 500kg. At the standard refuse rate of $55.70 a tonne, this will cost $27.85.
• Hard fill (soil, concrete, bricks etc) will be charged at a rate of $32.40 a tonne.
• It is expected that most carloads of refuse will cost the minimum fee of $5. This is a reduction from the current $7.20. Staff will help remove all reusable material at a new trailer-sorting site. Household hazardous materials, such as paints and sprays, will also be removed at this point. These changes are part of the Council's ongoing waste minimisation initiatives, which include large-scale green-waste composting, kerbside recycling, and Target Zero and Green Retail cleaner production programmes for businesses.
• The City's three refuse stations are at Metro Place, Bromley; Parkhouse Road, Sockburn; and Styx Mill Road, Redwood.

For more information call Julie Eyles in the Waste Management Unit on 371358.