Maitland City Council may have signed off on the controversial bulky waste collection service but a war of words continues between councillors Don Ferris, Henry Meskauskas and Philip Penfold.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Both councillors Ferris and Penfold have taken to social media to express their views - Cr Ferris describing the 'promise' of a free service for residents, by Cr Penfold as irresponsible.
Cr Ferris also said Cr Meskauskas, who also wanted a free service, was a victim of his generation - an era where going to the tip and dumping whatever you wanted was free.
Cr Meskauskas, who has been advocating for a kerbside pick up for more than 20 years, said when he was growing up in Maitland people did have to pay to tip their bulky rubbish. "It cost $5 a trailer," he said.
He said Cr Ferris will not accept what the community wants and is ignoring the ratepayers' wishes.
"There are people without trailers, cars etc to transport their rubbish. This proves just how far Cr Ferris is out of touch with what the ratepayers want," Cr Meskauskas said.
In a Letter to the Editor in today's Mercury, Cr Ferris explains that waste is a huge and expensive global problem and a free collection service is an archaic practice many other NSW councils are trying to quash.
A council recommendation to approve a service where residents use their free tip voucher and negotiate transport costs with the approved collection agency was carried by one vote. The service is set to start this month.
While Cr Ferris would rather have no kerbside pick up, he voted in favour of the recommendation which he said was the best of a bad bunch.
"Our tip is nearly full and the council would have to transport waste to Newcastle, pay for the transport and pay for the disposal," he said.
Cr Penfold said on his Facebook page that his proposal was "to provide an on-call, paid service, with waste left for pick up within the property boundary (not footpath)".
Cr Penfold said the motion carried by council will be out of reach for most residents.
"Sadly, this will keep inequity in the system and keep it out of reach of being affordable for many thousands in the community with no means of transporting their bulk waste," his post said.
His post also said that: "Currently approx 50% of the free (tip) vouchers go unused each year."
But Cr Ferris posted on his Facebook page "Councillor Phillip Penfold bulky waste collection is not free and should not be free. Promising free disposal of rubbish to residents is a furphy."
He went on to say "It costs all of us ratepayers, especially when council pays the State Government the waste levy of $141.20 a tonne on everything that goes over the weighbridge.
"I am firmly in the camp that if you create the waste, you should have to pay for it to be disposed of rather than relying on council and rate payers to cover your tip bill," he said.
Cr Penfold did not respond to The Mercury's requests for comment.
A poll conducted by The Mercury last year showed 85 per cent of voters supported a bulky waste collection.
Council officers had previously recommended to scrap the idea of a bulky waste pick up.
Council considered the idea but significant costs associated with it and concerns about the negative impacts on the streetscape prevented its implementation.
See the full letter from Cr Ferris below
A lot has changed since Maitland's oldest Councillor was a boy. The Prime Minister was Robert Menzies, construction of the Snowy Hydro Scheme had begun and Maitland's tip(s) were not yet full.
Henry Meskauskas is from a generation where going to tip was free, there was no weigh bridge or no questioning from the attendant about the contents of the load.
Given Henry's vintage he can be forgiven for wanting to deliver a bulky waste collection unlike the younger Councillor Philip Penfold and cohort (Crs Yarrington, Griffin, Halliday, Garnham and Nicole Penfold).
Times have changed. Waste is a huge and expensive global problem now and promising free for all bulky waste services such as those put up by Councillor Philip Penfold last Tuesday are irresponsible. Such services are a bygone relic that many other NSW Councils are trying to figure out exit strategies from.
Cr Phillip Penfold could not wait to start on the Councillors who voted down his half baked idea on Tuesday night. His Facebook and breakfast radio got a workout after the meeting. However he neglected to mention in his media campaign where the money would come from to pay for such a scheme, insisting it was free.
Cr Penfold's cohort voted against a moderate and financially prudent scheme that helps residents utilise their tip voucher, allowing them to dispose of up to 400Kg of bulky waste at Mt Vincent Waste Management Centre if they don't have a car, ute or trailer. The resident would have to negotiate and pay for the transport of their bulky goods to the tip by a provider, as is the case when large items are purchased and delivered from stores.
The 'polluter pays' principle suggests that those who make the mess should be the ones to pay to clean it up. How else can we begin to discourage people, small businesses and multinationals from creating excessive waste?
Some have remarked that by having no free bulky waste service automatically means excessive illegal dumping will occur.
Even if there were substantial evidence to back up this claim, running the gauntlet and taking on the motion sensor cameras is still a risky manoeuvre back that can land you a big fine and a criminal record.
The NSW Government's Waste Levy now sits at $145 per tonne. Combine that cost with paying people to physically pick up bulky goods and and load it into a truck.
Add the cost of transporting it all to Newcastle tip as Maitland's tip is very near capacity. Even if a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) were utilised costs will mount.
The system that was supported by Council on Tuesday night is not a perfect scheme but it's a start and, unlike Cr Philip Penfold's scheme, it is affordable. Data generated during the 12 month trial will guide future improvements.
I am firmly in the camp that if you create the waste, you should have to pay for it to be disposed of.
Ask yourself should disposing of bulky waste really be free and who really is paying? Most rate payers know the answer only too well.