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Will Skip Bin users gain from the removall of the Carbon Tax?

News > Will Skip Bin users gain from the removall of the Carbon Tax?

Well consumers of waste services, especially users of skip bin services should benefit from the repeal of the carbon tax. The big question is likely to be when and by how much?  Right wing or liberal leaning councils will be keen to lend their weight to the Coalition line and so we will see Councils like Wyong Shire Council making press releases like this:

"Wyong Shire Council will save millions of dollars a year now the carbon tax has been repealed" Wyong Council's Mayor, Doug Eaton, has welcomed the news and said he would be working with the local Federal Member, Karen McNamara to ensure these savings are passed on to ratepayers as quickly as possible. "I believe the reductions will be in the order of $27.60 per tonne of waste at the tip gate and save ratepayers $22 a year in domestic waste charges."

So what benefits could there be to Skip Bin Hire's
For Heavy waste skip bins that may contain about 1 tonne of waste per cubic meter this would mean a saving of over $27.60 per cubic meter or tonne.  For a 2 Cubic meter skip bin this would be a saving of over $50.  For area's like Newcastle in NSW, the local council charges $350 per tonne for general waste disposal for skip bins the saving should be higher than $27.60 on a $350 tonne of waste maybe around $35.

General waste skip bins will see a smaller benefit returned to these customers because generally the amount of waste in the bin is more like about 150 kg (0.15 tonne) per cubic meter. So the saving is likely to be more in the region or 1.5%.  And this is where the rub is likely to come in.  Even for a 6 cubic meter bin in Sydney  that 1.5% reduction equates to only about $10 as the price of the bin is about $700.

And when will the Benefits Appear?
That is a good question.  The Repeal of the Carbon Tax was effective on July 1st 2014.  So people paying for skip bins since the 1st of July have already been paying the carbon tax this year.  You would expect the benefits to take very soon.  We would suggest no one should hold their breath while waiting as the wheels in councils only move slowly (other than for press releases), as usually price changes have to go to council and then be implemented in computer system.  There is even a chance that some councils do not move on the changes.  There is also a chance that for smaller bins for general light waste the savings will not be significant enough for them to be passed back to skip bin users and the state waste levies have already taken a larger chunk out of operators margins.  For example in New South Wales the waste levy increased by over $12 per tonne on July 1st.
  • Authored By:Steve Shergold
  • Updated:18/07/2014