Central Coast Council is calling for waste levy funds collected by the State Government to be reinvestment into the local government area (LGA).
A Council spokesperson said the LGA was recognised by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) as being part of the Metropolitan Levy Area for the purposes of calculating the waste levy.
“That means Council is required to pay the NSW Government $146 for each tonne of waste landfilled,” the spokesperson said.
“NSW Councils in the Regional Levy Area pay the regional rate of $86.10, while much of rural and regional NSW pays no levy.
“In 2019/20 the waste levy payable by Central Coast Council was $29.9M, of which $13.5M was attributable to the disposal of waste collected as part of Council’s domestic waste collection services.
“In return, Council received $323,000 in direct funding in addition to indirect funding through participation in a range of programs funded by the NSW waste levy.
“Council would like to see the NSW Government reinvest waste levy funds back to the source local government areas.”
The spokesperson said reinvested funds could be used to help councils develop regional scale plans for the future of waste and recycling in their regions, to drive the delivery of priority infrastructure and other local government projects needed to deliver these plans, to provide support for the purchase of recycled content by all levels of government, and to fund and deliver a state wide education campaign on the importance of recycling.
Council’s comment comes in the wake of a call from State Labor for urgent change following the recent release of the NSW Auditor General’s Waste Levy and Grants for Waste Infrastructure report.
Labor says the report found that the Government had collected almost $4B from residents across the state over the past six years, but only a third of those funds have been invested back into waste and environmental programs.
The levy was designed to reduce landfill, increase recycling and promote broader environmental outcomes, none of which were being achieved, Labor says.
Shadow Minister for Local Government, Greg Warren, said the Government had used the levy to rip NSW residents off.
“Residents across the state are being taxed billions of dollars through their council rates, but two thirds of the money isn’t being spent on what it is meant for,” he said.
“The funding allocated for waste and environmental programs is minuscule compared to the taxes being collected year after year.”
A NSW Government spokesperson said the government would continue to support councils in delivering waste management services.
“The NSW Government has allocated an additional $85M in this year’s Budget to continue important waste and recycling programs and provide certainty for councils while work on the 20 Year Waste Strategy is completed,” the spokesperson said.
“Currently, one third of the waste levy is returned directly to environment programs including Waste Less, Recycle More – the largest waste and recycling program in Australia.
“The remaining two thirds goes toward funding critical infrastructure and services for our State like hospitals, schools and roads.”
Terry Collins