Australian Capital Territory
Waste Minimisation (Landfill Fees) Determination 2008 (No 1)
Disallowable Instrument DI2008-111 
Made under the
Waste Minimisation Act 2001, Section 45 - Determination of Fees

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Section 45 of the Waste Minimisation Act 2001 (the Act) allows for the responsible Minister to determine waste fees for the ACT.

This determination revokes the previous fee determination (DI 2007 – 144) that set fees for the 2007-2008 financial year and establishes new fees from 1 July 2008.

In line with the Waste Pricing Strategy 2002, the commercial and industrial fees have been increased beyond the wage price index to reflect the true cost of disposing of these materials to landfill and to provide a market pricing signal for waste generators and transporters to take up readily available recycling alternatives.  This is the last commercial waste to landfill pricing increase under the above pricing strategy, which means that the ACT is now charging the “True Cost of Waste to Landfill” based on 2001 costings. 

The Commercial fee for tyre acceptance at waste facilities has been increased from $165.00 per tonne to $275.00 (GST inclusive). While this is a significant increase it is intended to stimulate the remaining quantity of tyres being disposed of at landfill to be diverted into available recycling alternatives.  The ACT currently generates about 3,000 tonnes of tyres annually, with approximately 2,500 tonnes being recycled.  However 500 tonnes continue to be landfilled from retailers that have not taken up available recycling alternatives.  While tyre landfilling fees remain cheaper than the recycling alternatives there is no pricing incentive for the remaining retailers to divert tyres to recycling.  It is worth noting that the tyre retailers have historically charged around $3-5 for tyre disposal within the sale price for each replacement tyre, meaning they profit from tyre disposal to landfill. This current charge the retailers already apply at the point of sale is adequate to cover tyre recycling costs.

A new charge for soil contaminated with small amounts of bonded asbestos sheeting has been created to avoid an unnecessary cost burden for the construction and development industries.  This material will still be placed in a licensed asbestos disposal facility.  This charge does not apply to friable asbestos wastes that require special handling and packaging.  Waste generators of this material will be required to provide written EPA waste classification and approval notification prior to making disposal arrangements. 

Non commercial charges for the acceptance of household waste, delivered by residents remains unchanged from the previous fee determination. 

The new fee determination takes effect on 1 July 2008.