On June 18, the South Australian government declared that the landfill levy will increase in its 2019/20 State Budget. The levy will increase across the metropolitan area from $100 per tonne to $110 per tonne as of July 1, followed by a further increase to $140 per tonne from January 1, 2020 onwards. Meanwhile, the regional landfill levy is just 50 per cent of the metropolitan rate!
After the announcement, Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) CEO, Gayle Sloan said the waste industry was “blindsided” because the levy was previously expected to only increase by $3!
Sandy Verschoor, Adelaide’s Lord Mayor said the council was “very concerned” about the declaration of the waste levy increase because it is a state government tax which they are forced to collect from ratepayers, and it has increased at an alarming rate in recent years.
The SA government have a different view, and explained that the increase of the solid waste levy would convey a strong message that all efforts should be made to reduce waste to landfill through recycling or resource recovery. We agree!
According to the government, the levy increased will be used to fund significant environmental projects with the 2019/20 State Budget which includes more than $64 million of new funding towards practical environmental action such as waste management and coastal protection!
SA Minister for Environment and Water, David Spiers said landfill contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions that are incredibly harmful to the climate, so further action is required to counter it.
Although the landfill levy increase was drastic and declared somewhat out of the blue, we can choose to look at it from a different perspective! We should all be more mindful of what is it that we are throwing out and make a conscious effort to seperate our waste properly, instead of dumping everything into one bin and eventually having the waste go straight to landfill.
Additionally, since it is Plastic Free July, let us all try to refuse one use plastic this month so that we can be part of the solution to plastic pollution and also reduce waste in general!
If you would like to learn more about diverting waste into proper streams instead of dumping it all to landfill, do not hesitate to get in touch with us at Australian Green Clean.
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