Goulburn contractor complains about waste management fee

Councillors at their most recent meeting unanimously refused a building contractor's request to decrease the $3182 charge for a "mixed waste" load one of its employees had taken to the centre on December 6.

A report stated that the employee claimed the 11.92 tonne load was 'clean fill' but staff noticed that about 'half' contained concrete. The contractor has disputed this.

"Accordingly, the operator advised the driver that the waste was not clean fill and they would be charged (for mixed waste)," utilities director Marina Hollands said.

"The truck was weighted in the centre, the load disposed of in landfill and the vehicle weighed out of the site. This is a standard practice for trucks where our system does not have the weight of the (vehicle)."

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Upon exit, the driver was "shocked" to hear the fee, advised they wouldn't pay and asked what options were available. By this time, staff had spread the waste across landfill and it couldn't be reloaded onto the vehicle.

Disposing of mixed waste incurs a $267 per tonne charge. Mrs Hollands said it was higher than clean fill because it couldn't be re-used.

The contractor argued the vehicle's tare weight should have been entered into the system first, enabling the driver to know the charge before disposal. But Mrs Hollands said under a chain of responsibility, drivers should know their truck's weight and load to allow for even distribution across the axels. The vehicle's weight was "clearly displayed" at the weighbridge and as such, the driver should have been able to estimate the charge.

The company sought a review and stated that it was "happy to pay a fair and reasonable charge."

In a letter, the contractor said there were two "small pieces of concrete" in the "clean fill" load and the driver was honest about its content.

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"(The) driver has done this on many occasions before and it was never a problem. The concrete pieces could easily have been removed if we were told to," the letter stated.

"The truck that delivered the load is in the system but the operator advised the driver they couldn't find it and directed them to go and empty the contents and would weigh the (vehicle) back to determine the price."

If the price was known beforehand, the company would have disposed of the load elsewhere, the letter stated.

"We were shocked to receive such an exorbitant price and when the truck arrived back on site, no more than 10 minutes later, we contacted the (waste centre) manager to let them know what had happened and that we could could pick it back up to have the fees reimbursed," the letter read.

"(The person) was happy with this but did mention it hadn't been done before. (We) went to check if the load had been spread, and to our disappointment, it had been."

The contractor said his company regularly tipped at the Goulburn Waste Management Centre and was "always honest about the contents." In this case, they felt that honesty had "cost them massively."

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At the recent meeting, Mrs Hollands said in response to councillors' questions that it was important to maintain consistency with the charges, agreed upon in the 2021/22 operational plan, and to send a message.

"In all cases, where someone comes in with a mixed load, they get charged for landfill because that's where it goes," she said.

Councillors unanimously agreed with her recommendation not to reduce the fee, given the charges were also displayed at the entrance.

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