No carbon tax charge for City’s ratepayers

Two new initiatives are ensuring the City’s long term waste needs are provided for with as little impact on the environment as possible.

The City of Armadale is pleased that as a result of these green initiatives, it has not needed to increase rates or any other fees and charges as a result of the carbon tax.

Mayor Henry Zelones said an increase in the cost of collecting and treating waste could have impacted on the rubbish charge.

“The City took proactive action to reduce carbon emissions, and lower the impact on the environment in sending local waste to landfill, by flaring the gas produced at the landfill site.

“An additional charge to ratepayers would have been applied in the 2014 - 2015 financial year, when the City reached the threshold on emissions, mostly from legacy waste being landfilled at the Armadale Landfill Facility located at Hopkinson Road, Hilbert.

“The cost increase per household would have been approximately $3 per annum for 2014 - 2015.

“However, the City was already taking positive steps, which reduced the impact of the carbon tax, through methane gas capture and flaring at the waste facility, which has brought down the emissions to below the threshold at which the carbon tax would have been applied.

“In addition, the City has recently supported the River Regional Council tender award for the diversion of waste from landfill.

“That initiative reduces the carbon footprint of the waste processing even further and removes the applicability of the carbon tax completely.

The Armadale community can be proud that the future landfill management operations of their City are environmentally sustainable and cost effective, so everybody wins,” said Mayor Zelones.