Port Stephens Mayor Ryan Palmer raised the Mayoral Minute in a bid to bring attention to the impact of unfair waste management levy charges on regional and rural Councils.

“The NSW EPA requires waste facilities in NSW to contribute a waste levy for each tonne sent to landfill – within the metropolitan and regional levy areas,” said Mayor Palmer.

“Council believes Port Stephens is incorrectly classified and paying the metropolitan levy – the higher rate per tonne. Last year, the community contributed a total of $3.5M paid in levy through the waste disposal and processing charges by Council.

“Port Stephens is not a metropolitan location and this incorrect classification is unfairly impacting our community – it just doesn’t make sense.

“In all other NSW Government strategies and grant funding programs, we’re identified as a rural or regional location,” he added.

Mayor Palmer believes the funds paid at the higher rate should be refunded, to allow Council to implement other waste management strategies.

“We don’t want to put waste into landfill – we want to deliver actions to divert waste from landfill.

“Not only are we seeking the Regional Rate from the EPA, we also want a commitment from the NSW Government that the waste levy funds will be returned to Council to deliver modern, circular economy outcomes for our community,” he added.

The City of Newcastle recently asked for support from other Lower Hunter councils in their request to the NSW Government that they all be charged the lower regional rate.