TOWNSVILLE residents trying to clean out their homes will feel the brunt of the carbon tax, with some dump fees nearly doubled as of July 1.
The Federal Government’s carbon tax, which started on July 1, includes Townsville City Council as one of the country’s largest polluters because of carbon and methane emissions from the city’s landfills.
The fee for dumping domestic waste and green waste with a standard car or ute will rise from $4.50 to $8 – with $2.34 of the rise directly attributed to the carbon tax – while dumping with a trailer will increase from $9 to $16 – with $4.69 of the rise directly attributed to the carbon tax.
Kirwan resident Lyle Fenwick said he was shocked to learn the dump fees would spike by so much under the carbon tax.
He said the new charges would encourage illegal dumping.
“I’m for having a clean yard and gutters and that’s why I always sort my rubbish and take it to the dump,” he said.
“I’m now going to have to just throw all my green waste in the (wheelie) bin because I can’t afford to pay $16 every time I need to take something to the dump.
“Renters don’t even see any of the rubbish vouchers and now they have no incentive to to do the right thing.
“We are going to go back to the bad old days when everybody just dumped things on the side of the road or around parks.”
Townsville Water and Waste Committee chairman Ray Gartrell said the scheme would have a major financial impact on the community.
“The impact will be felt not just at the landfill gate, but right across the council’s operations,” he said.
“Government assistance is going out to residents, but there is nothing for councils and that means the cost inevitably is passed on to ratepayers.”
Cr Gartrell said the council had put in place gas capture measures at landfills to reduce the amount of carbon and methane emitted by the council.
Residents can still use rubbish vouchers, which are not affected by the price increases, to dump waste.
Charges for commercial dumping went up on July 1, but companies are likely to pay less because the State Government scrapped the commercial waste levy.