Waste Disposal Levies Could Jump 500 Per Cent In Marlborough Under New ‘guilt Tax’

Wednesday, 19 August 2020, 10:20 am
Article: Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter

The cost of dumping waste in Marlborough could climb over the next four years as the Government looks at rolling out a "guilt tax” to reduce rubbish being sent to landfill.

Landfill levies at Bluegums Landfill, south of Blenheim, could increase 500 per cent from $10 a tonne to $60 by 2024 and trigger the Marlborough District Council to up household waste bills.

The proposal was announced by Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage last November after it was found about 30 million tonnes of rubbish sent to landfills in the past decade could have been recycled, composted or reused.

Council solid waste manager Alec McNeil said the proposal would impact “everything”, including the cost of roadside rubbish bags, business products and landfill gate fees.

“That fee would be passed on by skip companies to customers. That might be residents, but it could also be businesses, who would pass that on to their own customers.

“People will find that across the system, prices will go up.”

Waste disposal levies form only a part of the overall cost of taking rubbish to the landfill, however, as councils charge a range of other fees to reflect the cost of running a landfill and transfer station.

The cost of roadside rubbish bags would increase, but McNeil was unsure by how much. He said Marlborough households each binned about 500 kilograms of rubbish a year.

The Ministry for the Environment estimated increasing waste levies to $60 a tonne would increase bag prices by 25 cents each.

McNeil said it was generally cheaper and easier to send rubbish to the dump than it was to recycle, and the idea of the proposed increase was to make landfilling less attractive.

“It's a guilt tax,” he said. “Sixty dollars is a huge increase, but it's still low compared to other parts of the world. I think people will notice its effect, but it's not a show-stopper.”

Currently, the Government charged a levy of $10 per tonne for domestic rubbish dumped in district landfills – one of the lowest levies in the world – and did not charge a levy for dumping at other types of landfill, like cleanfill or industrial.

The levy had been reviewed by the Government every three years since its inception in 2009, but had remained at $10.

In Marlborough, levies currently brought in about $700,000 a year, which would rise to $1.4m if the levy increased to $20 next year. If the levy increased to $60 a tonne in 2024, as proposed, the council’s levies would earn $4.2m a year.

McNeil said this was based on an assumption the landfill would continue to take in 70,000 tonnes of rubbish a year.

About half of the money raised by waste disposal levies went into the Government's waste minimisation fund, which was a national pot of money for new initiatives to reduce rubbish.

The remainder was dished out to councils based on population sizes. Marlborough currently saw $180,000 back from its levies, which could increase to $1m with a $60 levy.

McNeil said funds handed back to the council would be used to support initiatives and infrastructure that reduced waste, which would be outlined in its new waste minimisation plan.

“You can use it to pay for items, for people and resources, invest in education, or mobilise the community by partially funding ideas they have for their communities,” McNeil said.

“One way or another, the money will go up significantly.”

Extra money would also be put into the system by the region’s six or so privately-owned landfills which, under the new proposal, would be required to charge up to $30 per tonne. Those landfills currently did not pay waste disposal levies.

McNeil was unsure how much money this would amount to. “That money is not necessarily going to go back to council."

Proposed levy costs (per tonne):

July 2021, $20

July 2022, $30

July 2023, $50

July 2024, $60

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