City of South Perth chief executive Mike Bradford said the council had made allowances to send residual waste to an alternative waste disposal facility, which was not expected to increase the cost burden on the city.
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Other councils, including the cities of Gosnells, Mandurah, Canning and Kwinana and the shires of Murray and Serpentine-Jarrahdale have also been forced to make alternate arrangements.
City of Gosnells chief executive Ian Cowie said the council was extending its existing waste contracts to cope with the delays.
While he had not crunched the numbers, Cowie was quick to point out that the real cost was the waste being sent to landfill and not used as a renewable source of energy.
Much like South Perth, City of Canning mayor Patrick Hall said the council had entered into separate contracts to dispose of its waste and was not expecting to incur extra costs, while the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale would continue to use its contracted landfill facility.
Shire president Michelle Rich revealed the operator had vowed to cover additional costs as a result of the arrangement, with the council set to be handed a credit by the time it opens.
The Shire of Murray also has another contract in place for kerbside waste disposal.
City of Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams said the council remained committed to utilising the plant, which was expected to divert about 97 per cent of household waste from landfill and convert it to energy.
“We have been working towards this for over 10 years, however, as expected, given the heated construction market, this project has been delayed and at this stage is expected to come online in 2024,” he said.
“We will continue to work with all parties to see this project completed as soon as possible, and in the meantime, residents should expect no changes to their current waste collection service.”
City of Kwinana mayor Carol Adams said contractual arrangements allowed for different disposal and processing options across a variety of waste streams, allowing the city to continue with pre-existing landfill arrangements until material could be delivered to the waste-to-energy facility.
While the financial implications were confidential, Adams said the impact for the city was limited.
The City of Armadale could not be reached for comment.
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