Ballina short of cash and ideas | Northern Rivers News | Local News in Northern Rivers

Sue Short | 30th June 2009

WE KNOW that councils are strapped for cash, but in discouraging residents from recycling it seems they are living in a fool’s paradise.

In an era when climate change and environmental health is on the mind of just about every voter in the country, it would seem Ballina Shire Council is out of step with what ratepayers want and need.

Collecting revenue from recycled rubbish fees at the local landfill tip would appear to be an exercise in financial futility.

Once a free service, the council now wants to collect a fee from residents to recycle.

All this will do is force residents and businesses to put all their rubbish in the normal bins to avoid paying hefty fees.

In turn, this will cost the council more for collection, and also quickly fill whatever landfill space we have.

New refuse tips are difficult to find and are very expensive to maintain.

Waste disposal is a major issue for local government and the community today.

By encouraging reuse and recycling, regions can cut their waste by up to 50 per cent or more.

It also helps to keep our beaches, roads, bushland and stormwater systems clear of rubbish.

Making recycling more expensive will not be good for our local environment, or the planet.

For the past decade councils and governments have been educating people to sort their rubbish and recycle.

Now Ballina council wants to change that environmentally-aware mindset.

There must better ways to raise revenue.

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