Sorry, you can't dump that here
Residents in Charlton are being turned away from their waste disposal facility and told to go to Toowoomba to dump their green waste.
The amount of green waste at the Charlton facility has been labelled by Toowoomba Regional Council as a health hazard.
This has left residents scratching their heads wondering why the waste has not been mulched to allow room for more to be brought in.
Desley Sowerby is one of those who has already been turned away from the site.
She believes the situation should have been rectified months ago.
"They (contractors) used to come out and mulch fortnightly," she said.
"If they're not going to look after the place then they might as well close the thing down."
Toowoomba Regional Council Environmental and Community Services portfolio leader Cr Bill Cahill said damaged mulching equipment operated by private contractors was the reason for the delay.
"The private contractor's equipment was damaged when it was mulching green waste," he said.
"Damage most likely was caused by contaminants, possibly metal, in the green waste several weeks ago.
"Mulching equipment repairs are almost finished and the contractor expects to mulch material at Charlton in mid to late November."
The frustration felt by Charlton residents could be the beginning of more headaches for Toowoomba region residents as other small waste facilities face closure when Toowoomba Regional Council implements its new Waste Management Strategic Plan over the next few years.
The plan includes additional gate fees at all waste management facilities to compensate for the new State Government commercial waste levy as of December 1.
You can have your say regarding the waste management proposals until November 28 either at Council's website, on the back of booklets delivered to your letterbox or at any of Council's customer service centres.
Source: http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2011/11/03/sorry-you-cant-dump-here/
