Waste meeting for local businesses

Council is inviting commercial users of the city's waste facility to a meeting to discuss a review of waste fees and classifications.

The meeting has been called to address inconsistencies in how Council classifies and accepts commercial waste, and ensure the NSW Environment Protection Authority's (EPA) guidelines are being met.

Council's Chief Financial Officer, Jay Nankivell, said the facility's waste classifications and their associated fees were long overdue for review.

"Our current structure is a bit convoluted and doesn't align with EPA waste classifications - it probably should have been reviewed when the weigh station was installed at the waste facility in 2015," he said.

"For example we currently class and accept bricks and concrete as clean rubble, when under EPA guidelines it should be classed as 'building and demolition waste'.

"We've also been accepting soil as 'clean fill', when the EPA actually requires soil to be tested for contaminants before it can be declared 'clean'.

"There are numerous other inconsistencies that require attention, and if we're looking to update how we classify and accept waste, then we need to meet with commercial users and consider what impact that could have on fees.

"It's an issue that needs to be resolved, and I think it's important Council and industry put their heads together and try and come up with a solution that all parties can agree on," he said.

The meeting will be held at 5.30pm on October 10 at the Council Chambers, and all commercial users of the waste facility are strongly encouraged to attend.