NSW LGA Vice President and City of Canada Bay Mayor Angelo Tsirekas is calling on the NSW Stage Government to invest the millions paid in waste levies back into local recycling and waste infrastructure and initiatives.
“With recent changes to overseas recycling contracts and the rapid population growth in metropolitan areas, it is time for the NSW Government to think seriously about how recycling and waste is managed both across the state and here in Sydney’s Inner West,” City of Canada Bay Mayor Angelo Tsirekas said.
“In order to address waste crisis, the State Government must commit to investing waste levy funds back into local recycling and waste initiatives and infrastructure.”
Councils across NSW pay $300 million in waste levies, and only 18 percent of that is reinvested into local recycling and waste management.
“Our community pays $3 million a year to the State Government; we have to fight tooth and nail to get it back for local waste and recycling initiatives; and even then we only get back 10 per cent,” City of Canada Bay Mayor Angelo Tsirekas said.
“Every year waste levy funds aren’t spent on infrastructure, the cost of dealing with waste increases and increases for our residents.”
The reinvestment of the waste levy to support waste and resource recovery infrastructure, develop markets and innovative solutions, and undertake other initiatives to encourage reuse and recycling also offers wide-ranging benefits to our communities right across NSW.
There is the potential for economic growth, new infrastructure, new technology and new jobs, particularly in our regional areas.
“NSW has the highest waste levy in the nation and we should be a hub for innovation in this industry in Australia,” Mayor Tsirekas said.
“We cannot address our current issues and we cannot look toward new opportunities in this industry based on current level of State Government investment in waste and recycling. I urge the NSW Government to reinvest funds from the waste levy back into innovative solutions to the waste crisis in metropolitan areas and across Australia.”
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