Price hike at the tip !

Humble lawn clippings are causing an odour problem at the tip - and so city residents face another price hike.

We are set to face a double whammy ! Not only will an extra $ 1.60 be added to the rates bill of every household, but the tip fee for all manner of greenwaste will increase by $ 6.30 - to a whopping $ 77 per tonne.

It seems that the cause of this odour is the decomposing nature of grass clippings when they are stored in the black bins for fortnightly pickup. Grass contains a high moisture content, and sitting in an enclosed bin on a hot day speeds the decomposition process, resulting in the grass becoming very hot - and emitting that foul smell.

The problem is that tip fees have risen to levels where they are rapidly becoming out of reach for many people - and that applies to every type of rubbish.

Residents living near vacant land and national parks are getting a real incentive to dump their rubbish rather than pay at the tip because of price shock when they take a trailer load to the local dump.

We are already seeing problems for charities with residents using their donation bins as a dumping ground for their unwanted goods - including household rubbish.

Simply hiking the price every time there is a problem is not the answer.

We may already have passed " the point of no return " - and created a whole new problem of civil disobedience !