A performance audit into the effectiveness of the waste levy and grants for waste infrastructure to minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill has found the levy to have a positive effect.
In her report, Waste levy and grants for waste infrastructure, Auditor-General Margaret Crawford said levy rates increased each year in line with the consumer price index, however, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) had not conducted a review since 2009 to confirm whether they were set at the optimal level.
“The audit also found that there were no objective and transparent criteria for which local Government areas should pay the levy, and the list of levied local Government areas has not been reviewed since 2014,” Ms Crawford said.
“Grant funding programs for waste infrastructure administered by the EPA and the Environmental Trust have supported increases in recycling capacity,” she said.
“However, these grant programs are not guided by a clear strategy for investment in waste infrastructure.”
Ms Crawford said that since 2012 a number of significant changes had occurred in the waste industry that could have an impact on the effectiveness of the waste levy and the absence of a comprehensive review of the impact of those changes meant the current waste levy settings were not based on the most up to date information.
She made six recommendations aimed at ensuring the waste levy was as effective as possible at meeting its objectives and ensuring funding for waste infrastructure was contributing effectively to recycling and waste diversion targets.
The Auditor-General’s 31-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
