Corowa Council yesterday agreed to reduce its domestic kerbside waste collection charge by $15 per service as a result of the reduced landfill charges at the Albury tip.

Tip operations in Corowa didn’t require specific action or changing under the previous carbon tax legislation.

But Albury, the local liable entity council, has reduced its landfill gate fees in response to the new legislation introduced by the federal government.

Domestic waste collected in Corowa by the council’s kerbside collection contractor is taken to the Albury tip, as is the waste from the Mulwala tip and rural skip bins at Daysdale, Coreen, Buraja, Rennie and Savernake.

It is estimated the cost to Corowa Shire may fall by up to $100,000, based on the tonnage of waste received at the Albury tip during the past financial year and the fee reduction that has been adopted by Albury Council.

The council’s engineering and infrastructure director Nigel Sutton said it had multiple options in dealing with the saving.

“As there is no impact on the operations of the landfills at Howlong and Corowa, there is no direct link or basis to reduce the landfill charges,” he said.

“The waste from Mulwala will benefit from the reduced landfill charge at Albury.

“However, the cost to operate the Mulwala waste transfer station exceeded the income from the facility by approximately $74,000 in 2013-14, so reducing the charges at that facility is not appropriate.

“Lower charges would be expected to encourage additional usage, adding to the operational deficit.

“The rural facilities will also benefit from the reduced charge, however no fees are currently attached to their availability.

“As the vast bulk of the waste taken to Albury is from the domestic kerbside collection, it is appropriate to reduce the domestic waste fee to reflect the reduced cost to council.”

A further review of the costs of providing waste facilities will be part of a future waste management strategy.