Rural Albany residents to retain ability to buy more waste transfer station passes after council decision

Albany councillors voted unanimously in favour of not removing the option for the City’s rural residents to purchase additional waste pass tokens last week. As part of ongoing efforts to reduce the amount of waste collected for landfill, the City conducted a review of waste services provided to rural and urban residents. The review resulted in proposed changes for rural residents in order for them to become more equitable to a reduction in landfill services provided to urban residents operating on a three-bin system. Changes in the committee recommendation included rural residents receiving a reduced number of waste pass tokens, from 52 down to 40, and the removal of the option to purchase additional passes 2023-24. The recommendation also asked the council to note increased education targeted at rural residents to help reduce their landfill contributions and emerging issues for rural transfer stations. An amended motion tabled by Cr Thomas Brough, which asked the council to not remove the ability for rural residents to buy additional transfer station passes, received support from the full council. Speaking to the motion, Cr Brough said the amendment was “about a sense of balance” and that he had been contacted by many community members as well as the Napier and Wellstead progress associations. “It was only a small minority of those respondents who said they wanted to hang on to the 52 passes, everyone else said they were happy to align with the urban residents,” he said. Several councillors also spoke in support of the motion. Cr Stephen Grimmer said an “overwhelming response” indicated rural residents wanted to “do the right thing by the environment, but we need a little bit of help”. Cr Amanda Cruse stated it would be unfair for rural residents to have to make a 200km round trip from Wellstead to the City’s Hanrahan Road Waste Facility if they ran out of passes while urban residents could make a much more convenient visit. Cr Greg Stocks said Cr Sruse was “100 per cent spot on”. “I think it’s punitive to say to someone who lives at Wellstead that they need to travel into Hanrahan Road if you’ve used all your passes,” he said. “I think (the amendment) is eminently sensible and it doesn’t change what we are trying to achieve.”