High tip fees blamed for rubbish dumping at op shops

Friday, 7 January 2022

The high cost of taking rubbish to the tip is to blame for dumping at op shops, disgruntled ratepayers say.

While charities hit by “urban fly-tipping” this summer prepare to involve the police and hire skip bins to cope with an influx of unwanted and unsaleable items, social media users say councils should take some responsibility for the problem.

“I know that the Silverstream tip now charges $25 for a car, a lot more for a trailer etc. I suspect the amount of fly-tipping – and that's effectively what's being done to the charity shops – has to bear some sort of relationship to the cost of legitimate rubbish disposal,” one person said.

“If the council have to pay, they may have a citizen-driven incentive to address the problem, rather than leaving the charities to pay for it.”

Charities are facing big bills to deal with an influx of unwanted items being dumped at their doors.

* Landfill levies could rise in Govt bid to urge people to recycle

In 2019, the Silverstream Landfill charged $15 to $35 depending on the size of the vehicle carrying waste, or $126.50 per tonne of rubbish. As of Friday, charges at the same facility were between $25 and $50 per vehicle, or $161 per tonne.

Another said their tip fees had more than tripled in the last few years.

“I can no longer dump green waste, which the council profits from, relatively cheaply. And the Auckland Council wonders why people just dump their rubbish anywhere and they pay a fortune to contractors to clean it up.”

Auckland Council general manager of waste solutions Parul Sood said people caught leaving items outside op shops could face an instant fine of $400. On successful prosecution, the fine could be up to $30,000.

Landfill fees could rise even further as the national waste disposal levy increases over the next few years. (File photo)

However, the responsibility for clearing items dumped on private land sat with the owner, Sood said.

“[This] is unfortunate for charities as it becomes a cost on them. We work with the organisations to see if we can get evidence to prosecute those responsible and look at ways to deter it in future.”

From July 2019 to June 2020, the council issued more than 40 fines for dumping outside op shops.

Unfortunately for landfill users, charges could rise even further as the Government rolls out a four-year programme to increase the national waste disposal levy.

By 2026, the levy rate for landfills taking household waste will increase from $10 per tonne to $60 per tonne.

The levy will also expand to cover construction and demolition landfills, as well as the municipal landfills already covered.

Operators must pay the levy based on the weight of material disposed of at their facility. However, they may pass this cost on to the waste producer, such as households and businesses.