Brimbank council hasn’t received a cent to remediate its old tips, despite pouring more than $20.5 million into a state government fund designed for that very purpose, as well as to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
New figures from the council reveal Brimbank ratepayers have coughed up almost $20.6 million since the Bracks state government introduced Victoria’s “Sustainability Fund” financed through a landfill levy in 1995.
In that time, less than $633,000 – or 3 per cent of the council’s total contribution – has returned to the municipality for sustainability projects, and none for tip rehabilitation.
Brimbank has 29 former landfills on public and private land, including two large former council tips at Sunshine Energy Park, Albion, and Green Gully Reserve, Keilor Downs. There are also two active landfills in Brimbank, one at Kealba and one at Brooklyn.
Brimbank received its largest return of $471,000 in 2002-03 for a “best practice” kerbside recycling program. Since then, it has received between $7500 and $70,000 on four occasions for public recycling projects, a “detox your home” facility and to support the Brimbank Gems Recycling Program.
Councillor Bruce Lancashire said he was “so disappointed” about how the money has been used.
He said some European countries were well ahead of Australia when it came to recycling and landfill, and he hoped the millions the state government has amassed would help bring new technologies in waste disposal here.
Mayor John Hedditch said Brimbank has appealed to the state government to spend money raised from the Sustainability Fund on waste and recycling programs in Melbourne’s west.
“It is only fair that these sustainability funds, which are raised by local government contributions, should be returned to local government to better resource action on these widespread problems,” Mr Hedditch said.
In 2017-18, the fund will be used to install $9.6 million solar panels on trams, a $110 million plantation for the timber industry in the Latrobe Valley and $8.1 million on improving Parks Victoria’s website.
