Published on Wednesday, 28 June 2017 at 12:00:00 AM
With upgrades set to occur at Meru Landfill in coming years, planning and design works as part of the new Budget will keep the landfill on track to receive larger volumes of waste with the construction of a new cell and capping of current cells.
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said there is currently an unfunded liability of $9 million sitting on the City’s balance sheet and it was something that would be addressed in the 2017/18 Budget.
“This is a very large elephant in the room and it is a typical type of legacy issue that we are facing but it is one that we are repairing in the new Budget,” he said.
“Planning and design work on the extra cell and capping of an existing cell, will take place in the new financial year with delivery expected to go ahead in 2018/19.
“Our tip has a very high volume of traffic and is a service that our community are very vocal about, so it is important that we keep up with the maintenance and the necessary infrastructure improvements.”
Mayor Van Styn said the small rise in fees and charges for standard rubbish services in this year’s rates was due to these capital works taking place at Meru.
“Rate payers will notice an increase of $46 in their fees and charges which isn’t a lot considering we don’t charge our residents to dump at Meru like most Councils do,” he said.
“Council abolished tip fees in last year’s budget after unwavering feedback from our community.”
While free dumping will remain, the City has also announced an increase in the number of free skip bins to residents as part of bulk kerb side collection.
The increase in bins came after the City received feedback about the programme’s popularity.
“We introduced the free skip bin service last financial year and it was a great opportunity for us to gauge how much the service would be used by the community,” he said.
“With overwhelming popularity of the programme and wait times for residents to receive a skip bin, the City has introduced another 200 skip bins in the 2017/18 Budget bringing it to a total of 800 bins per annum.”
To further encourage sustainability in our community, the City is also embracing a number of recycling initiatives and will continue them into the new financial year.
The City has partnered with NACC and MEEDAC to implement recycling programs with MEEDAC currently managing the City’s reuse and recycle shop. The facility processes plastics and cardboard for transport to Perth for further recycling.
“We know our community is very passionate about recycling and this is why we are continuing to reinstate services such as these,” he said.
“The City is currently in discussions with MEEDAC on how we can support them to take on further recycling programs with materials such as glass and mattresses.
“These programs will help in the City’s efforts to divert waste from the landfill and preserve the landfill for years to come.”
NACC provide various plastic recycling bins which are located in the community.
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| Picture Caption: Planning and design works at Meru Landfill are part of the new Budget. |
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