Residents are still waiting to hear if they will be hit with a rates rise to cover increased recycling costs, but Wangaratta Council says the city is in “a good position” to avoid the hike.
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The Municipal Association of Victoria has warned rates could go up between 1.1 per cent and 2.5 per cent because recycling companies will have to cover for China’s decision to ban certain types of recycling material.
Wangaratta resident Rob Summers asked last night’s council meeting for an update on what he should expect.
Infrastructure director Alan Clark said the situation was changing by the hour.
“That’s probably the billion dollar question around Australia at the moment,” he said yesterday.
Wangaratta Council’s contract was different to other councils in that it paid an amount per “bin lift”, then the cost of what to do with the waste was left with the contractor.
“Whether they make a profit or a loss on it is up to them,” Mr Clark said.
“We believe we’re in a very strong position given what’s happening around the work at the moment - more to follow.”
The council pushed ahead with its draft Waste Management Strategy for 2018-2023, which was passed unanimously by councillors at the meeting and will now go out for public comment.
Mr Clark said while there had been a “spike” in people illegally dumping items when the three-bin system was first introduced, that had now settled – with the exception of problems caused by tourists dumping camping rubbish in rural communities over holiday periods.
“People will come out of the bush and they’ll find any bin they can to put rubbish in, or next to any bin that they can find,” he said.
