Yes, certain items which incur a cost to Council for their recycling or disposal are chargeable at the Waste Management Facility. These items include fridges and freezers, air conditioners, tyres and mattresses. All other domestic waste and recycling can be disposed of for free.

The fees were adopted in the Schedule of fees and charges for 2023/24. However, to allow sufficient time for customers to be notified, they came into effect on the Monday 31 July 2023.

Council has chosen to implement a user pays model for these waste types in order to reduce the burden on ratepayers for their management and processing.

Air-conditioners, Fridges & Freezers

Degassing is a requirement to comply with the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989. Refrigerants gases can be extremely harmful to the environment, and they can leak into the atmosphere when equipment is not disposed of properly.

It is an offence for anyone other than a licenced technician to handle the refrigerants used in these items. Therefore, Council periodically engages a contractor to extract gas from refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners. Once the gas is removed, the items can be recycled as scrap metal.

Mattresses

Mattresses are large and bulky, taking up significant air space in the landfill. The process of shredding the mattresses allows the steel springs to be separated for recycling, and the left-over material can then be compacted to a higher degree in the landfill. This also makes it safer for machinery operators working on the landfill.

The general rates and the Waste Management Charge subsidise the costs of supplying waste management facilities and a waste management service to the community. This does not cover all of the costs, so Council has adopted a user pays model for those items that incur extra costs for processing and lawful disposal (as for the refrigerant gases and tyres).

The Waste Reduction & Recycling Act 2011 requires recording and reporting of vehicle registration numbers at waste facilities with a weighbridge. Council is obliged to comply with this requirement, and for uniformity across Council operations, the information is recorded at all waste facilities.

No cash is accepted at Council’s waste management facilities. All of the waste management facilities accept EFTPOS as the payment method. In the event of failure of the EFTPOS on site, arrangements will be made to accept payment via telephone, at one of Council’s Customer Service Centres during weekdays. On weekends, in the event of EFT payment issues, site supervisors at smaller sites can call Warwick or Stanthorpe waste facilities to process payments manually over the phone.

If you do not have your card, you will need to leave the site and return with your card, as payment is required at the time of disposal.

Council has published a media release regarding the new fees, as well as a story in Council’s e-newsletter and social media posts.

This charge is for all sizes and types of mattresses including foam, and any mattress or base that has springs. Council pays a per mattress charge to the shredding contractor, regardless of size or type.

Yes, because Council is required to have all of these items checked by the contractor. It is an offence to cut the lines on refrigerant items, and the applicable fine is much greater than the disposal cost charged by Council. Never cut the lines on a refrigerant item.

Yes, the charge will apply to all air conditioners, because Council is required to have all of these items checked by the contractor.