NASINU Town Council is spending about $3.1million a year on solid waste management, with 21,000 tonnes of rubbish being hauled to Naboro landfill outside Lami as the municipality struggles with rising waste volumes.
Council acting chief financial officer Imran Khan told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs on Tuesday that the cost of waste management was consuming the council’s entire rates income.
“If we equate that, just solid waste management takes up all the rates income that we have,” he said.
Mr Khan said the amount of waste collected had been “significantly increasing”, driven by population growth and the council’s responsibility for nearly 50 informal settlements within its boundaries.
He said the council was now considering reducing green waste collections from once a month to six times a year while encouraging residents to compost and reduce waste. But illegal dumping remained a major concern.
“A lot of times we have had a situation whereby due to illegal dumping, council had to collect all three — green waste, white goods and construction waste.”
Mr Khan said the council was stepping up enforcement, increasing its enforcement team from two to six officers following the introduction of a $200 fine for illegal dumping.
Mr Khan said kitchen waste was collected three days a week for a fee of $81 per flat, while green waste and white goods were collected without additional service charges.
