Exclusive: How much residents will pay to dump waste at Gold Coast tips
Residents of a Gold Coast suburb are describing council’s new waste management strategy as “madness” after receiving letters about a $300 bill for a new bin service many of them won’t be able to use.
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RESIDENTS are describing council’s new waste management strategy as “madness” after letters about a $300 bill for a new bin service only to be advised it will be impossible to pick up garbage from some steep driveways.
Council updates were published on the Springbrook Mountain Community Association Facebook as councillors met behind closed doors on Monday.
Some residents may now have to pay for a bin which they cannot receive.
Hinterland property owners on May 25 received a letter from council’s customer engagement officer advising “efficient, cost-effective and environmentally responsible waste services” had been extended to their suburb: “(It) will provide rural and hinterland customers with a more convenient and sustainable solution to managing household waste disposal.”
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From August, the residents would get a 240-litre general waste bin with a red lid and recycling bin with a yellow lid. General waste would to be collected weekly and recycling every second week.
Residents were told they would pay the standard city-wide annual waste utility charge of $294.48. But some are now being notified about “unserviceable” properties.
Each property was evaluated for accessibility by a standard collection vehicle, the customer engagement officer wrote.
Some residents’ properties had either a steep gradient, lower powerlines, narrow access “or other unsafe conditions”.
They were told to “manage your household waste via your closest Waste Recycling Centre”.
“The city thanks you for your ongoing patience while we continue to investigate viable waste management options for your property,” the officer wrote.
Springbrook’s Ceris Ash said many residents did not want wheelie bins but would accept some sort of levy. They would not want to pay at the tip, she said, adding: “Closing the tip on Springbrook would be utter madness. With the system at the moment we don’t need green bins or bulky pick ups. So waste management is duplicating everything.”
Ms Ash said the tip must remain open to those not getting bins, which included many roads unable to be accessed by waste collection trucks on the mountain.
“The present tip takes bulky items and green waste. A complete waste of money,” she said, referring to the council reforms.
Area councillor Glenn Tozer said 1500 homes in the past did not pay the waste management utility charge including 700 in his division.
He admitted he was not aware letters would be sent before the special budget committee made a decision.
“I remain opposed to this decision — and debated so in council — even though council resolved otherwise,” he wrote.
Cr Tozer said every resident would pay the charge and be eligible for the bin from July 1 with the cost likely to be about $300.
“You will not be forced to have a kerbside bin and you can opt out if you want — you will need to write to me or the waste team to do this, identifying your address properly as the property owner,” he said.
TIP FEES PLAN PUT ON HOLD AFTER BACKLASH
Gold Coast City councillors have sensationally parked a plan – for now – to introduce dump fees for residents for the first time.
Councillors agreed to put any proposal back six months in almost two hours of talks behind closed doors at a special budget meeting on Monday.
It came after the Bulletin revealed that proposed new fee charges were being considered, sparking a backlash from furious residents.
Residents in Facebook posts predicted people would illegally dump rubbish on the road rather than pay up to a proposed $38 for some tip visits.
A council source told the Bulletin: “There are no fees or charges for residents going to tips in this budget.
“We have to do community consultation on it. We have to ask whether you want fees or charges. There are pros and cons. We need to get out and consult.”
The decisions by councillors are yet to be made public but the Bulletin understands there will be no increase from July 1 and that is to continue for six months.
It is understood council will also examine how households deal with their waste and look at potential rates discounts for residents undertaking various measures.
“It’s not over. But it is definitely over from July 1,” a source said. “We will see what the community says.”
Mayor Tom Tate said the 2021-22 City Budget would be delivered on June 23.
“Until then, any speculation on fees and charges is just that – speculation.
“This will be my 10th budget as mayor and all 10 budgets have focused on what is fair and equitable for the majority of ratepayers,” Cr Tate said.
“Nothing will change in that regard.”
HOW RESIDENTS REACTED TO PROPOSED MOVE
Gold Coast residents reacted angrily to news that council has discussed introducing dump fees.
Councillors met on May 31 to discuss a confidential eight-page report on tips which suggested residents be slugged with fees ranging from $5 to $38 for disposing of general waste and $12 to $20 for green waste.
The proposed waste management tariff reform comes after council bureaucrats say the availability for waste land will soon run out.
As of 3pm on Monday, 87% of Bulletin readers who took part in an online poll said they believed Gold Coast tips should be free.
Paradise Point resident Mick McKinnon said he had to travel to the Molendinar Waste and Recycling centre to dispose of his green waste after council reduced services in the wake of COVID-19.
“They don’t have green waste in Helensvale anymore so we have to come to Molendinar,” Mr McKinnon said.
“We could be spending money elsewhere,” he said.
Bulletin readers also expressed concerns the introduction of fees could see waste dumped beside roads.
“You will end up with rubbish dumping in parks,” reader Steve Pinchen said. “Rubbish dumps should be free”.
Margaret Novak said: “People are already lazy now with free tips available, you still see rubbish dumped by the sides of roads. This will increase with more people dumping, maybe increase kerbside pick up for items if you want to charge for rubbish tips.”
Ms Valma Cronau also agreed. “Our rates are already too high,” she said. “This will lead to more people dumping in the streets.”
One of the few readers to back the proposed fees said they might lead to “less wasteful consumerism”.
“I like this idea,” they said. “I have always been in favour of charging people for waste they dump on a per/kg basis – a great incentive to be more conscious with what is brought and thrown away. Less wasteful consumerism more recycling, reusing and composting.”
EARLIER: RADICAL SHAKE-UP TO GOLD COAST WASTE TIP FEES
THE council is considering introducing dump fees for residents, in its secret budget discussions.
Councillors discussed “waste management tariff reform” and a confidential eight-page report on tips when they met behind closed doors on May 31, the Bulletin can reveal.
Council isn’t commenting on nine questions sent to the administration which include whether gate fees could range from $5 to $38 under reforms for future visits by residents to city waste recycling depots.
Other questions included whether fees for having a trailer full of green waste would be $12 and $20 for general waste.
A council spokesperson said: “A confidential item on Waste Management Tariff Reform was considered by Special Budget and Finance committee on Monday. A vote in open session is yet to occur and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
The budget will be handed down on June 23 when all fees and charges are made public.
Mayor Tom Tate said: “The 2021 budget is yet to be finalised. No comment.” Councillors cannot respond on items on “grey paper”.
But a source confirmed a range of fees were discussed, and the proposal, if adopted, would require boom gates at tips, weigh stations and more staff.
It remains unclear whether council can obtain fees from residents while getting a State Government waste subsidy. Several other local councils have fees ranging up to $30.
Other sources suggest of concern for councillors is not just public backlash but the possibility of security and safety for tip staff who in the past have faced assaults and will cop abuse.
Council bureaucrats proposing the reform agenda are aware the city is running out of available land for tips, and costs of collecting and disposing waste keep increasing.
Council is unable to recover the costs from recycling, there are fears about the state government subsidy being phased out and tip fees offer a solution which will see up to $9 million obtained then reinvested in waste services. The most recent survey of ratepayers, in 2015, found 25 per cent of residents backed a user pays model.
Most residents said the cost of operating the city’s waste and recycling centres should be “spread equally across all ratepayers”, who were paying $260 a year.
Council in 2014 had begun closing “constrained” smaller facilities at Neranwood, Tallebudgera, Miami Tugun, Mudgeeraba, Maudsland, and Suntown at Arundel after a report warned without the closures the cost of operating the network would increase by $22 million in the next 10 years.
An officer’s report had recommended a user-pays system but offered caution on timing.
Since COVID-19 restrictions, council has begun a huge shake-up of green services reducing the bins at tips like Helensvale, causing residents to use green pads at other recycling centres reducing costs.
Research shows the most cost-effective way for waste services is for council to encourage kerbside bins rather than residents dumping material which need sorting at tips.
The Springbrook Mountain Community Association on Facebook at the weekend has included an update from area councillor Glenn Tozer about expansion of a kerbside service to about 700 rural residents.
Cr Tozer provided the update after council sent out letters about the fee increase of up to $300. He had supported those rural residents who were opposed to the new service because their steep properties made it impossible to have a bin.
Resident Ceris Ash on the Association’s page wrote: “Questions to be asked. How long will our tip remain operational. How long until the tip becomes user pays. Until we have those answers how can we decide if we want wheelie bins.”
Originally published as Exclusive: How much residents will pay to dump waste at Gold Coast tips
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