Future waste remediation overshadows financial improvements

Snowy Monaro Regional Council is one of a number across NSW who have been required to review the provisions they have made to cover the future cost of the waste that has gone into landfill.

These provisions reflect the future cost of covering and containing the waste that has gone into landfill in the past.

“In our case this has had a significant effect,” Snowy Monaro Regional Council General Manager Peter Bascomb said.

Previously used locations have been identified as needing additional works to bring the sites up to the current standards and avoid potential pollution. This accounts for around $29.2million of the deficit.

“It is not only amalgamated Councils that have been required to make these adjustments,” Mr Bascomb said.

The current landfills have also seen an increased need for funds to be put aside.

“We have a better indication of the true costs of remediation following works done at Adaminaby.”

“This has identified that the costs of getting appropriate clay material to seal the sites will be considerable.” Recognising this cost led to depreciation increasing by $1.24million.

Combined, this added $30.5million to the deficit on top of Council’s ongoing deficit of $4million.

The adjustment this year is large as the remediation costs have not been reviewed for some time.

The impact of increased costs and difficulty in gaining good material have compounded over this period.

Processes have been put in place to review the remediation costs annually, avoiding large changes into the future.

The costs reflect increasing expectations around ensuring that waste that has gone into landfills does not escape to contaminate other land.

“This is showing the true cost of putting waste into landfills, which is why we encourage the diversion of as much waste as possible into recycling and reuse,” Mr Bascomb said.

“It also shows the value of reducing the amount of waste we create as much as possible.

“Unfortunately this will overshadow the ongoing improvement in our financial position, where we have once again managed to reduce the underlying deficit of the Council.”

Without these waste costs, Council has managed to end the year around $2million better off than what was expected at the start of the year.