Household garbage collection and tip fees will rise in July, with Blaxland tip emissions forecast to cost more than $11.3 million over 20 years due to the carbon tax.
Collection of the smaller 140 litre bins will jump $28 per year to $267 in 2012/13, while homes with the larger 240 litre bins will pay $33 more, or $342 per year to pass on the actual cost of the Federal Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).
A trip to the tip will cost a minimum of $17.50, up from $9.15, while disposing of grass clippings, bagged organic material, weeds and other organic material that can’t be chipped will go up more than $100, from $91.53 to $193.
A report to Monday’s Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) meeting stated the council was liable for emissions generated from its operational landfill at Blaxland under clean energy legislation passed by the Senate in November last year. The carbon price is set to begin on July 1 and waste facilities that emitted more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year would be required to purchase and surrender permits, the report stated.
A review commissioned by the council predicted the Blaxland facility would exceed 25,000 tonnes per year in 2013/14 based on current landfill patterns, and would remain above the threshold until 2033/34.
The “absolute minimum liability” for emissions in 2014 was predicted to be $307,434, rising to $390,284 in 2014, for a total of $11,312,028 by 2034.
While the council is receiving legal advice on who is responsible for purchasing and surrendering permits — BMCC or the operator under contract, Theiss — the Domestic Waste Management Charge (DWMC) and additional tip fees would need to accommodate the carbon price.
“While it is not yet clear whether BMCC or Theis will hold the liability for purchasing and surrendering carbon permits, it is considered prudent to set 2012/13 fees and charges based on the assumption that BMCC will hold this liability,” the report said.
“. . . Therefore, the WMF [waste management facility] gate fees, Domestic Waste Management Charge and other waste related fees for 2012/13 have been set to accommodate the purchase and surrendering of these permits.”
The report also recommended five options for reducing landfill gas emissions, including reducing the tonnes of waste being put into landfill, reducing the organic content of waste such as food and garden waste, and capturing and using landfill gas for electricity generation and direct heat. It recommended BMCC pursue a three-month landfill gas pumping trial costing between $90,000 and $120,000 to determine the feasibility of capture.
“Given there will be a cost of at least $11.3 million for the Blaxland WMF emissions (and a high risk that it will be significantly more than this) it would be wise to invest in reducing the site’s emissions to below the threshold, thereby including no liability,” the report said.
The carbon tax will begin at $23-per-tonne in July, increasing by 2.5 per cent in real terms for the next three years. An emission trading scheme will then begin in July 2015, with the price set by the market.
