Soon Down Under could be buried down under a galactic load of garbage. And that goes double for Queensland, whose government just trashed an industrial waste levy meant to encourage recycling.
The levy, which went into effect only at the end of last year, "brought Queensland into line with other mainland Australian states,” says the government’s website.
But effective July 1, the $35 per tonne tax will end, making Queensland the most dump-friendly state nationwide - which is not exactly bad news to its neighbors. A waste collector of NSW, soon to see a rise to $40 a tonne, told Sydney Morning Herald, “come July 1 ''everything will be going to Queensland.’”
And that "will undermine the reason for the levy in NSW," says Australian Council of Recycling, which wants a standard levy for all states.
For now, so much for the state‘s slogan: “Tomorrow’s Queensland: strong, green, smart, healthy and fair.”
Tell Queensland, Don’t turn your state into a dumping ground.
We, the undersigned, don’t see the wisdom in Queensland’s plan to abolish its industrial waste levy.
Not only will this change backfire on Queensland, but it will “undermine the reason for the levy in NSW," says Australian Council of Recycling's Rod Welford.
Welford is of course opposed to Queensland’s plan, but he says the Council also believes there should be a consistent levy that applies to all states, otherwise, he explains, if “there's too significant a differential … you'll have people effectively forum shopping for the cheapest disposal option.'' And that’s exactly what appears will happen, based on comments already made by NSW residents.
The advantages of Queensland’s levy program are found on the government’s waste management website and are outlined below:
The levy is an application of the user-pays principle, aiming to create a price signal to encourage waste generators to focus on waste avoidance and resource recovery, and discourage unnecessary landfill disposal. The Industry Waste Levy will: 1)ensure a level of consistency with waste disposal costs in other states to deter unnecessary disposal of interstate waste in Queensland 2)fund programs that help establish better waste avoidance, resource recovery practices and overall waste management initiatives and 3) reduce the impact upon Queensland’s carbon footprint caused by waste disposed to landfill.
These goals are too important to just throw away. Please don’t scrap your industrial waste levy and turn Queensland into a dumping ground.
Thanks for your serious consideration of this request.
