Council supports waste levy rise despite concerns

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The Ashburton District Council is supporting waste levy increases, despite some worries it will lead to more people illegally dumping rubbish.

The Government is proposing to increase landfill levies and apply it to more types of waste, and that will have a spinoff for Ashburton ratepayers who will likely end up paying more to dispose of waste.

Council’s waste recovery manager Craig Goodwin said there was plenty of data to support the idea that higher disposal costs motivated people to recycling more.

He said other countries used a waste levy to reduce waste by encouraging people to think more carefully about what they were throwing away. "It does work. There are plenty of numbers around it."

Government was also working on schemes aimed at industries taking more responsibility for the waste they produced, like tyres, electrical waste and soft plastics packaging, he said.

Ashburton councillors last week signed off their submission on Government’s plans.

They supported the increased levy as long as government first introduced an expanded programme and supporting infrastructure like recycling facilities for reducing waste.

Mr Goodwin said it could bring a return to the days where people earned a reward for recycling things like glass.

Cr Stuart Wilson said he was worried more people would dump waste illegally if costs to them went up.

"The more expensive this gets, the more people will take the easy way out."

The status of some council clean fill pits could also change under the proposal and some might eventually need weigh bridges.

In its submission, council did not support treating farm pits as landfills sites. Farmers were already required to identify and manage pits under their Farm Environment Plans.

 

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