Junee residents have vented their frustration over steep pricing at the town’s tip, claiming it is much cheaper to take their waste to Wagga.
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Local woman Debie Heritage claims to have payed more than $250 in the space of a fortnight, saying she has been charged through the nose in part due to being billed by the trailer load, rather than a weighted amount.
Ms Heritage fears the tip’s pricing could encourage illegal dumping.
“I certainly don't illegally dump, but if you’re moving house and you’re being charged a hell of a lot for each trailer load... some people just can’t afford that and will dump everything on the side of the road,” she said.
Junee's tip charges $68 for a ten-by-six metre trailer load of landfill and $28 for a six-by-four metre trailer, according to council’s website.
Wagga's Gregadoo Waste Management Centre charges $87.60 per tonne of domestic waste and offers free tip days.
Elsewhere, Coolamon Shire Council offers free domestic waste disposal at its landfill depots in Coolamon, Ardlethan, Ganmain and Marrar.
Long-time Junee resident Rachel McDermott has joined the chorus of voices venting about local prices.
“It was going to cost me $28 to get rid a wardrobe in Junee, but it was only $11 in Wagga,” she said.
“We pay enough in our rates that we shouldn’t be getting slogged like this.”
Junee Shire Council engineering services director Will Barton said council was offering the cheapest possible service, adding that a comprehensive review last year showed the shire’s waste and recycling service was not generating enough money to remain sustainable.
“In response, we tried to we tried to put downward pressure on the cost of delivering services, but we can only do that to a certain extent and the community has to fund the costs,” he said.
Mr Barton also pointed to Junee's community recycling centre, which offers the free disposal of a range of recyclable waste products.