Tamworth council has redoubled efforts to convince the chief local government peak organisation to lobby for more financial aid for council recycling efforts.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tamworth Regional Council is trying to avoid being left with a bill Mayor Russell Webb claims could be foisted on it by a legal obligation within the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041.
The scheme will prohibit organic material being placed in landfill in 2030.
Council plans to meet the obligation by establishing an Organic Waste Recycling Facility. Estimates put the cost of the facility at $20 million, if not more.
"It's fallen on councils to comply with the legislation which in turn is going to mean some significant costs to ratepayers across regional NSW," he said.
It's not just larger rural councils like Tamworth that will be affected by the rules, Cr Webb said.
Smaller local governments like Gunnedah, Liverpool Plains or Uralla could be simply unable to meet the requirements, he said.
"We're agitating for it because most of the councils that I've spoken to don't have the capacity to give it too much thought at the minute, but they're going to be caught with their pants down," he said.
READ MORE:
Cr Webb said council had sponsored a motion to that effect at the recent National Australian Local Government Association Conference, last month.
Despite the move not making it to a vote, due to a packed program at the national event held in Canberra, council is working to get it back on the agenda for the association in future.
"Some of our local smaller councils, they just won't have the capacity to do it and they're hoping that there'll be some other solutions. But we've got to prepare for it."
Cr Webb attended the conference in June.
They were one of many councils to sponsor a number of similar motions on the topic of waste recycling cost-shifting, which may end up amalgamated into a smaller number in future, he said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News