The peak body representing local councils in Greater Western Sydney, the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), has called out the NSW Government for diverting hundreds-of-millions of dollars annually from programs intended to reduce household and business waste.
Instead, the WSROC says, the money is going into the Government’s own coffers.
“The NSW Government collects about $800 million annually through its compulsory Waste Levy, a special payment for each tonne of rubbish received at waste facilities in NSW,” says WSROC President, Councillor Barry Calvert.
“The Waste Levy contribution was first set up in 1971 to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill and to promote recycling and resource recovery,” he said.
The NSW Auditor-General recently revealed that the NSW government has collected almost $4 billion from the waste levy in the last five years alone.
“However, only about 13% of the Waste Levy revenue is reinvested in waste and regulatory programs to reduce waste, while a further 13% went to environmental programs,” says Cr Calvert.
“Close to three-quarters of the money – about $600 million annually – is shifted into consolidated revenue, instead.
“This creates a terrible market distortion, with households and businesses paying out large sums of money to dispose of waste with few opportunities created to further divert recyclable waste.
“There is so much more than could be done, both to reduce waste and create jobs, if the full $800 million was targeted towards the purposes it is raised for.”
Cr Calvert says the waste crisis presents an opportunity to both create new jobs and drive the transition to a circular economy.
“Much of the actual day-to-day work of the state’s waste management system is conducted by local councils — and paid for by local communities.”
“We’re urging the NSW Government to work with councils – who are on the frontline of dealing with waste and recycling – to develop forward-looking local waste plans and reinvest the $800 million Waste Levy it collects annually into recycling infrastructure and waste minimisation programs.
“An overhaul of the State’s waste management system is urgently needed,” said Cr Calvert.
