RESIDENTS have raised concerns over escalating tip fees, presenting a petition of more than 1700 signatures to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.
In response to the petition tabled at the council meeting on July 23, a statement from shire officers said higher fees for commercial operators and non-residents was designed to reduce the impact of increasing cost associated with waste disposal. The petition was referred to officers for a report.
Investigations by the Weekly have revealed that residents in other municipalities are paying substantially lower fees for their waste disposal.
A survey of transfer stations closest to Mornington showed the shire charged the highest fees for dumping a trailer load of hard waste. For a normal 1.8 metre x 1.2 metre (6ft x 4ft standard) trailer, Mornington Peninsula Shire charges residents $70 for a flat load of hard rubbish, rising to $100 for non-residents.
Tips in the Dandenong and Kingston council areas compared far more favourably, with
Clayton South refuse station charging $45 for a flat load of hard rubbish, Hampton Park $53 and Parkdale $55. None of these sites charge a higher rate for non-residents.
Frankston Council has no operating transfer station after its Frankston station closed in 2010 due to the construction of the Peninsula Link freeway. Frankston Council's acting CEO Jane Homewood said negotiations were under way with the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council about the possibility of subsidising Frankston ratepayers' use of shire sites in the short term.
The shire had been hoping to resolve the issue in time to include any revenue from Frankston Council in its now adopted 2012-13 budget.