Landfills have pushed up gate fees by more than 20 per cent as the carbon tax and the state’s waste levy combine to blow out the cost of dumping rubbish.
The move, which the industry says is necessary to fund its future carbon tax liability and higher operating costs, has been questioned by consumer advocates who say landfill operators must explicitly justify the increase to customers.
At the Eastern Creek landfill, where waste company SITA operates the weighbridge, the cost of dumping household rubbish jumped almost $47 to $224 a tonne on Sunday.
The 21 per cent price jump was attributed to the carbon tax, higher operating costs and the NSW waste levy, which in Sydney rose $13 a tonne to $95.20.
At the giant Woodlawn centre near Goulburn, which takes about one-third of Sydney’s waste, the carbon tax has added an extra $11.80 to the price of dumping a tonne of mixed municipal, commercial and industrial waste. State levy increases have also been added.
However, Wagga Wagga City Council, which faces an estimated $660,000 annual carbon tax bill from its landfill site, has chosen not to raise gate fees this year.
A spokeswoman said the decision was based on the “level of uncertainty around how gas emissions from landfills will be calculated and charged, and the impact of emission mitigation strategies”.
Landfills which generate more than 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year will pay the carbon tax from mid-2013.
A spokeswoman for the consumer group Choice, Ingrid Just, warned that the carbon price must not be used as a cover to inflate prices. “If [businesses] are attributing a price rise to the carbon tax, then they need to be able to provide evidence to that effect,” she said.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is examining false claims about the impact of the carbon tax, and the Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet, has warned that landfill operators who attribute a significant increase to the tax could be investigated.
A spokesman for SITA said the proportion of its price increase relating to the carbon tax was confidential, but insisted its modelling was “robust”.
A spokesman for the Woodlawn operator, Veolia, said its cost increase was calculated by modelling emissions from decomposing waste, and deducting the quantity of gas collected through methane capture.
Paul Younan, the owner of Marrickville waste disposal service The Rubbish Taxi, recycles as much refuse as possible, but predicted his charges would still increase.
“We have to try and make some money. I think we will have to [pass the costs on],” he said.
