If a customer of a waste company were to look at their contract or notice of a rate uplift they would see several references to the landfill levy as a reason for increasing rates. Fair enough I guess, but there is more to it than meets the eye.
For one, how heavy are your bins that are getting lifted? Do you know? Do you ask for and receive this data? What weight is the waste company basing your uplifts on?
To provide a simple example. If your bins are averaging 40kg per cubic meter they are pretty light but quite normal. You will find the waste company is basing your uplifts and application of the landfill fees and the levy to weights around 80kg per cubic meter.
So just like that, your waste company is charging you for landfill fees and levies that they pass on only a fraction of. The tough part to swallow is the increases are thrust upon you to increase your rate whilst they have full knowledge that they are already collecting landfill fees and levies on waste you have not produced.
The trouble is you are charged by volume, per lift, but the cost to the waste company is based on weight at landfill. This opens the door for waste companies to charge you more for landfill fees and levies than you are actually accruing. The answer to this is weight based billing, something that will be a reality in coming years. In the meantime, companies need to get smarter to control their waste costs.
So next time you receive a rate increase, or you are nearing the end of your contract touch base with Fernlawn to assist you to negotiate a rate that is fair for the waste you are producing.
Then there is the small matter that some waste companies are collecting the waste levy from customers and then driving their waste to QLD to avoid paying the levy, but that is for another day.