Melbourne residents face 40 per cent rubbish collection fee hikes as China recycling ban hits home

SUBURBAN Melburnians face annual garbage collection charge increases of up to 40 per cent due to the recycling crisis. See if your municipality has copped the biggest price hikes.

RESIDENTS are being hit with ­garbage collection fee hikes of up to 40 per cent as councils tackle the ­recycling crisis.

Most metropolitan councils ­surveyed by the Herald Sun have flagged waste levy hikes to handle China’s shock move to stop ­importing ­­low-quality mixed ­recyclable rubbish.

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The City of Bayside’s draft budget for 2018-19 proposes a 40 per cent, or $92.75 increase, to bring the annual charge for a standard 120-litre bin to $324.55.

Maroondah City Council, in the city’s outer east, has indicated its charge would rise by $68.50 to $324, while residents of leafy-east Boroondara will cop a $56 hike to $405 for a ­standard bin.

Suburban residents are set to pay more for their rubbish collection.

Bayside spokesman Steven White said his council’s levy increase was a direct impact of the Chinese ban.

“With low levels of local demand for recyclables, local recyclers are required to process materials to a higher quality at a higher cost if they are to be accepted by China,” he said.

The council did not anticipate further impacts, but higher costs are expected to persist until there is a local market for materials.

Elsewhere, Greater Dandenong households face a $53 ­annual hike to $378, Manningham’s levy will go up $42.50 to $254.50, and Frankston’s $32 to $353.

Manningham Mayor Andrew Conlon said the waste increase was less than $2.50 a week, per bin.

“That’s the cost of half a cup of coffee these days — we send a truck to every household and remove and dispose of about 10kg of rubbish every week,” he said.

Monash mayor Paul Klisaris wants to break the rate cap.

Municipal Association of Victoria chief executive Rob Spence is seeking new contracts to allow recycling services to continue.

Almost all councils are proposing to increase their general rates by 2.25 per cent in 2018-19 — the limit set by the state government.

But Monash is pushing to bust the rate cap with a proposed 3.53 per cent hike.

If refused, the council is considering a separate waste charge of up to $23 a year.

Councils’ peak body, the Municipal Association of Victoria, has been liaising with councils, recycling companies and the state government, seeking new contracts to allow recycling services to continue.

MAV chief Rob Spence said councils wanted to avoid recyclables ending in landfill.

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