Yarra Council resolves to separate waste service charges from general rates beginning 2023/24

Wednesday 15 March 2023

Last night Yarra City Council resolved to separate waste service charges from general rates. This change will be reflected in the 2023/24 draft Budget. 

The decision was made to address the rising cost of providing waste services to our community and ensure Council’s ongoing financial sustainability.

Council will remove the cost of waste services from general rates and list this as a separate line item on its Annual Rates Notices.

The waste service charge will be made up of two elements: a public waste rate and a kerbside waste rate. ‘Rate’ in this instance means that the cost will be scaled based on property value; this is the same way we calculate general rates.

The kerbside waste rate would only be applied to properties that receive a kerbside waste service from Yarra City Council. Ratepayers who do not receive a kerbside service from Council would be exempt from this charge.

This change comes in response to the rising cost of providing waste services which is outside of Council’s control. This decision brings Yarra Council in line with all other councils in Victoria who have previously separated the cost of waste form their general rates.

The cost of providing waste services has been impacted by an increase to the Victorian Government’s waste levy of 90% over the past three years. Council is also required to introduce a standardised four-stream bin service by the Victorian Government.

The funds collected from a separate waste service charge will only be used to cover the costs of providing waste and recycling services in Yarra. This is both a commitment of Council and a requirement under the law.

This change will only affect rate-paying property owners in the City of Yarra.

Council will be providing a range of in-person opportunities and online resources to support the community to better understand what this change means for their household.

Council would like to reassure the community that no changes have been made to kerbside waste collection schedules as a result of the March 14 meeting.

Find more information on how this change will impact you and submit your feedback on Your Say Yarra.

Waste and recycling pop-up events

To chat to our friendly team about Yarra's waste and recycling and how the separate waste charge affects you, head to one of our events:

 

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