by a St Kilda Elder

It has come to my attention that the City of Port Phillip propose to introduce an extra fixed waste charge, despite little support with only 35% in favour (53% strongly disagree or disagree and 12% neither agree nor disagree), at a recent Deliberative Consultation. And despite some 12% of my rates being said to cover waste. Council will of course tell us that this waste levy will be revenue neutral in the first year; in that the extra bin charge will be offset by an equal reduction in existing rates, but the bin charge will be a source of an estimated $25 million of additional revenue in following years. 

So, are they offering something extra? Can they make silk purses from the swine’s ears we lob into our bins? 

We have never had green bins or food waste bins, as many other councils do, where rates are indeed lower that ours. Instead, those of us who are prepared to put our money where our mouths are, on the issue of sustainability and recycling, install our own worm farms and compost bins to handle much of the organic waste. It can even be done on balconies. 

[FYI people:  worms can tolerate soft paper, leaves and just about all food stuffs except anything from the citrus and onion/garlic families. Compost bins can handle citrus and onion. I warn folks about meat products as they can attract vermin and the last thing, I want is a Council Rat Catcher levy!]

CoPP seem always to be contriving to suck more money out of ratepayers. And they prefer the kind of income that is not constrained by the Fair Go rates cap which restricts rate rises to the CPI. So, this year the bin levy may not be noticed in our rates. But CoPP is optimistic enough to forecast increases of 6.4% in 23/24 and 10.4% in 24/25, subject only to the Essential Services Commission’s tick of approval. 

So, is the waste levy just a ploy to sidestep the rates cap? I wonder which well paid consultant dreamed this one up.