General News
3 March, 2026
Kerbside collection costs to rise
MAREEBA shire residents could expect a rise in the cost of general waste services, plus an estimated $230, if optional green waste and recycling is introduced.
The council has awarded the tender for kerbside collection to the current waste services company JJ Richards & Sons Pty Ltd, which will begin its new contract in December for a seven-year and seven-month term.
According to a report to council, the company submitted a $14.7 million cost evaluation, however, the price was not final, and a new resolution will be considered by council later in the year.
“While the final cost is yet to be determined, the new contract will result in greater costs to households,” the report said.
These costs would include a general rise in the material costs of waste delivery, as well as possible hikes for extra, optional services for green waste and recycling collections.
Deputy Mayor Lenore Wyatt confirmed costs would be negotiated after all services were determined, but were likely to rise.
“Final costs are not known, but they’re not going to go down. They’re going to go up,” she said.
A council officer told the meeting some additional costs to the new contractual arrangement would be included as part of the 2026-27 operational budget preparation.
However, an increase for households would be inevitable, as industry costs had ballooned since Covid-19, with scarcity of parts and machinery still a problem.
He said the cost of kerbside collection trucks alone had risen from between $250,000 and $300,000 to between $750,000 to $800,000. This was because most trucks were imported from Europe, due to their fuel efficiencies and emission standards, while local trucks were no longer compliant.
Additional costs would also be introduced if the “Optional Services” for kerbside recycling (fortnightly) and kerbside Garden Organics (GO) (fortnightly) were accepted.
The report said the kerbside recycling service was forecast to cost each household at least $144 per year, based on collection and processing. One-off costs for bin delivery and public information education were not included.
The GO service was expected to cost at least $88.50 a year. The amount would depend on the number of properties included.
Both services could be introduced at any time during the seven-year contract.
Speaking after the meeting, council chief executive officer Peter Franks said the community would be consulted on the optional services after council examined the costings further.
“We will be engaging with the community to say, ‘well do you want to do this? Are you prepared to pay?’,” he said.
“We’ve always said we’d go back to the community, with ‘this is what it’s going to cost’, as opposed to ‘how much are you prepared to pay’.
“We’ve got some of the costs, but we need more from (the contractor) then we will engage the community.”
Mr Franks said the question of whether to include green waste and recycling kerbside services was first raised seven years ago.
“Council actually said once we’ve got this tender and prices, we’ll come back to the community,” he said.
