Council wasting time with CO2

Clementine Norton | 20th July 2009

THE Bundaberg Regional Council will need to pump about $5 million into waste management during the next two years to avoid the long-term costs of the federal government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) - but it has not budgeted a cent.

The final structure of the scheme will be voted on after an international climate change conference in November, but the council is yet to make a decision on what it will do to avoid having to pay out millions for carbon permits.

“At this stage there are still a lot of question marks and no-one's really come out yet and fully-identified what the implications will be,” Bundaberg region Mayor Lorraine Pyefinch said.

“It is frustrating.”

Council chief executive officer Peter Byrne admitted it was likely to cost the council - and rate payers - millions of dollars.

“In relation to the quantum of the dollars it will be in the millions, but we're unsure as to then what offsets we can do to enable us to reduce that,” Mr Byrne said.

“We haven't budgeted for it at this stage.”

Under the proposed scheme, which places a tax on every tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent produced, methane is likely to cost significantly more than CO2 as it is more damaging to the environment.

Bundaberg Regional Council manager of waste and environmental services James Stanfield is bracing himself for a change in waste management after predicting the council will need to spend now or pay later when it comes to the scheme.

“70% of the waste going in council landfill sites is organic matter (which will rot to produce methane),” Mr Stanfield said.

The current proposition is for CO2-equivalents to be taxed at $10 a tonne initially, but it is expected to go to $40 a tonne and then upwards.

Mr Stanfield predicted prices could reach $100 a tonne in a decade.

Under the current proposal, landfill emitting more than 25,000 tonnes a year will have to buy permits.

The University Drive waste transfer station currently produces 30,000 tonnes a year, which would cost the council an extra half a million dollars per year in CO2 permits.

However, Mr Stanfield said the council's Cedars Road landfill site could be producing more than 200,000 within 20 years.

“If we hit the cap and trade scheme and credits go up to $80 or $100 a tonne, we're talking about $18.4 million a year in permits for landfill,” Mr Stanfield said.

He said the council had two options - to burn off the excess methane, converting it back into CO2, or to reduce the level of organic waste put into the landfill, by using a three-bin system.

“We will probably have to do both,” Mr Stanfield said.

He estimated council would need to spend at least $5 million in the next two years to stop the gas creating a financial stink in the future.