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Community & Business

19 January, 2022

No more free trips to the dump

MAREEBA Shire residents will no longer be able to take rubbish to transfer stations for free after the council revoked the 100kg free dumping for residential waste.


No more free trips to the dump - feature photo

At its last meeting of 2021, councillors voted to revoke the 100kg free allowance for residential waste brought to the transfer station and approved new charges which come into effect on 1 February. 

For residential solid waste, transfer stations with a weighbridge will weigh vehicles and trailers and charged at a rate of $90 per tonne, while at sites without a weighbridge, charges will be as follows: $5 per bag to a maximum of 60L; $16.50 per car or ute or trailer; or $22 for a ute with a trailer. 

Mareeba Mayor Angela Toppin said with the landfill cell at Mareeba Transfer Station in the process of been capped, council was assessing how best to manage self-haul waste for the town. 

“The construction of a new landfill cell at the Mareeba site is one of the options being considered but no decision will be made until the least cost option for the community is determined,” she said. 

In the interim, waste that was previously disposed of at the landfill will be transported to the privately-owned Springmount Waste Facility which will result in an increase in costs for the disposal of self-haul waste. 

“Council must implement a cost recovery model to ensure the long-term financial viability of council’s transfer stations,” she said. 

“In the past, council relied on the income collected from the contract with SUEZ for disposing of their waste in our landfill to cover the cost of the ‘one free load’ per property, per month. 

“However, with SUEZ ending that contract and the capping of the landfill, that source of revenue has ended. Council has no option but to recover the costs incurred from those who use the service and hence to charge the fee at the gate.”

Meanwhile, the State Government has announced a new grants program to grants to assist primary producers and landholders with the cost of removing and safely disposing of illegally dumped waste. 

Under the program, landowners can apply for grants of up to $50,000 for projects to remove illegally dumped hazardous waste and/or illegally dumped waste that is difficult to access or requires specialist equipment to remove due to the location or size of the material. 

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the program formed part of the government’s war on waste. 

“This grant program is geared towards land managers such as primary producers, natural resource management groups, nature refuge holders and special wildlife reserve managers,” she said. 

The grants program will close on 18 February. Information:  www.qld.gov.au/environment/pollution/management/waste/litter-illegal-dumping/grants-funding

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