Council admits it 'got it wrong' after dumping recycling

"We got it wrong and should have told you," former mayor Cr Bill West has admitted.

Cr West's comment was made during the last meeting of Cowra Council where the council acknowledged it failed to process all kerbside recycling collected between January 2018 and May 2019.

After a lengthy debate at the meeting on March 26 the council voted to admit to the failure and also to hold wide ranging discussions about what else to do about the matter as part of its Operational Plan but stopped short of offering to refund recycling fees.

A number of amendments were put to the meeting which could have lead to refunds or a perception a refund would be forthcoming, but these were defeated.

In a report to the meeting Council general manager Paul Devery said, between January 2018 and May 2019 Council made an operational decision to prioritise the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) sorting line over the kerbside sorting line due to the high volume of CDS material being received at the site.

"It should be noted that none of the CDS material was permitted to be disposed of in landfill under the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (Container Deposit Scheme) Regulation 2017," Mr Devery said.

"During this period 990 tonne of inbound kerbside collection was diverted direct to landfill without sorting; potentially 430 tonne of recycled material that was not recovered.

"From May 2019 the yellow bin recycling concrete paved storage area (at the Materials Recycling Facility - MRF) was returned to full service and minimised any diversion of yellow bin material direct to landfill for the period up to January 2020," Mr Devery said.

The cost, council staff estimated, of a refund would be more than $760,000.

"A refund of this magnitude would have a significant detrimental impact on the Waste Fund. In reality any refund would be a cost in one year and recouped with higher charges over the ensuing years, a course of action that is counter-productive and not recommended," Mr Devery said.

He added if there are many other factors to consider including changes in home ownership, costs incurred in collection of the recycling together with the legal and ethical aspects.

"This is a complex issue, we got it wrong," Cr West said.

"The decision might have been right in maximising overall recycling but the lack of transparency is something that has caused this issue," he said.

Council has received legal advice that it has not breach any law by not recycling the waste.

"We can't put material into landfill free of charge, there is a cost," Cr West went on to say.

"Any reimbursement seems illogical. We need to accept we got it wrong.

"Recycling didn't stop, council did take on more than we could handle. There was just too much product.

"The failure to advise the community is one we are acknowledging."

Commenting on a suggestion from a ratepayer that the matter had been referred to the Ombudsman and media outlets Cr West said "I'm disappointed when we get what I call veiled threats".

"The mistake has been acknowledged," Cr West said.

"We should not lose sight of the fact putting material into the landfill is at a cost and secondly there is a difficulty in providing accurate data in finding those people who have been affected," he said.

"Should we give a refund sooner or later it comes out of our budget,' current deputy mayor Paul Smith told the meeting.

"The people who pay for this may not necessarily be those affected," Cr Smith said.

Speaking for holding further discussions which could involve a refund or some form of reimbursement to ratepayers Cr Sharon D'Elboux told the meeting "we have two main issues, a break in our system and a lack of transparency with our community".

"We have taken money for a service we did not provide. We picked up the garbage, took it to the MRF and it went into landfill.

"Most people who use a yellow bin believe it is going to be recycled," Cr D'Elboux said.

Also suggesting more should be done in considering some form of compensation for ratepayers Cr Cheryl Downing told her fellow councillors "The standard you walk past is the standard you set".

"We should be setting a better standard for our community. We need to recoup the trust that we have broken," she said.

"It appears a total breakdown of all policies and procedures at every level.

"And I worry about a workplace culture where our staff feel comfortable about sharing details with the community about these things but they don't feel the need or feel supported enough to bring it to senior staff," she said, referring to the fact the issue came to light after staff at the MRF raised it with the community.

Cr Erin Watt, also speaking for consideration of compensation said she believed it is "worth reviewing the long term costs and the long term impacts of providing some compensation to our community".

"In reality any refund would be a cost in one year and recouped with higher charges over the ensuing years, a course of action that is counter-productive and not recommended," Cr Paul Smith added.

In his report to the meeting Mr Devery said "there is no question council needs to acknowledge the mistake made at the time, (but) rather than provide direct rebates that in the end are a cost borne by consumers, alternative solutions are favoured".

He said these included proactively investing in additional storage to provide greater surety that recycling collected will be processed, delivering community environmental projects or enhanced recycling education programs to contribute to the community's long-term sustainability and ensuring internal decision-making processes are robust and aligned with council's objectives.