Question Without Notice No. 777 asked in the Legislative Council on 2 November 2017 by Hon Robin Chapple
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
WASTE AUTHORITY — LANDFILL LEVY
777. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the Minister for Environment:
I am sure the minister has been waiting for this one!
I refer to page 20 of the ''Western Australian Waste Strategy: Creating the Right Environment'' published in March 2012 and particularly to the following passage —
The Waste Authority will undertake work during and beyond the term of this Strategy to gain a better understanding of how increases in landfill costs are related to reductions in waste to landfill.
(1) What work has been done to better understand how increases in landfill costs are related to reductions in waste to landfill rates?
(2) Have any inferences or conclusions been made about the relationship between landfill costs and waste to landfill rates?
(3) If yes to (2), please explain?
(4) If no to (2), why not?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. I note there was a slight typo in questions (3) and (4), but this is answered in relation to how it was written. Hopefully, it is right.
(1) After the publication of the ''Western Australian Waste Strategy: Creating the Right Environment'' in March 2012, the Waste Authority commissioned ACIL Allen Consulting to prepare a report on the economic drivers of waste. The report was released in March 2014, and I table the report.
[See paper 835.]
(2)–(3) Yes. The ACIL Allen report found that increases in the landfill levy were associated with a substantial and statistically significant decrease in the flow of inert material to landfill, and a modest, although still statistically significant, decrease in the volume of putrescible material sent to landfill. Reasons for the differential effect of the waste levy on inert and putrescible materials are discussed in detail in the report.
(4) Not applicable.