Ipswich ratepayers hit with 29 per cent rise in dump fee

Ipswich ratepayers have been slugged with a huge increase in dump fee which kicked in at the start of the financial year.

Riverview Recycling and Refuse Centre. Picture: Ipswich City Council

Ipswich ratepayers have been slugged with a 29 per cent rise in dump fees which kicked in at the start of the financial year.

Dumping loads at the Riverview or Rosewood recycling and refuse centres would now cost a minimum of $18, a large increase from the $14 charged last year.

Ipswich’s dump fee has more than doubled in the past 10 years.

The new fee was effective from Monday, July 1.

It covered the first 500kg for Riverview and the first two cubic metres for Rosewood and included general waste dropped off by car, van, trailer or utility vehicle.

The previous fee remained unchanged for two consecutive years, from the 2022-23 financial year.

The council has also introduced a fee for green waste which started from $14.

Brisbane City Council charged $17.40 for the first 500kg of general waste, in comparison, while Logan City Council charged $40 for up to two cubic metres of waste.

But both those councils offered ratepayers (limited) free waste vouchers.

Riverview Recycling and Refuse Centre. Picture: Ipswich City Council

Ipswich City Council Finance and Governance Committee Chairperson Paul Tully said the raise was due to the state government’s increase in the waste levy it imposed on councils.

“The $4 increase to gate fees at council’s two recycling and refuse centres reflects rising costs to council for essential service delivery,” he said.

“Introduced in 2019, this state waste levy increases each year and the associated expenses are directly transferred to relevant council waste services.”

The state government’s general levy rate increased by 10 per cent to $115 per tonne this financial year.

Cr Tully said the average increase to fees and charges was based on a forecast Council Cost Index (CCI).

“(That) tracks how much more it is costing councils to deliver services and shows costs for councils have continued to rise faster than CPI,” Cr Tully said.

“Council recognises cost of living pressures remain the number one focus for Ipswich households.

“We are working hard to keep essential service delivery cost increases as low as possible.”

The council has allocated $1.3 million for an upgrade to Riverview Recycling and Refuse Centre upgrade, $1 million to progress the Austin Street facility at Redbank Plains and $500,000 for the Western Resource Recovery and Recovery Facility planning and design phase, according to its recent budget.

Average general owner/occupier rates also went up by 5.45 per cent, higher than the Consumer Price Index which currently was 3.6 per cent.

Minimum dump fees for Riverview/Rosewood recycling and refuse centres since 2014:

• 2024-25 $18
• 2023-24 $14
• 2022-23 $14
• 2021-22 $12
• 2020-21 $12
• 2019-20 $12
• 2018-19 $12
• 2017-18 $12
• 2016-17 $10
• 2015-16 $8
• 2014-15 $8

Originally published as Ipswich ratepayers hit with 29 per cent rise in dump fee