NSWMA shelled out $10m to settle lawsuits last year
Published:Thursday | July 21, 2022 | 12:11 AM
The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) had to pay out $10.4 million in judgment debts and settlements for the financial year 2020-21.
In its 2020-2021 annual report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the agency said that it had not received funding to deal with legal liabilities.
The board and management of the NSWMA are pressing the Government for funding to be earmarked annually for legal liabilities even while taking all possible steps to avoid the situations that give rise to the claims.
The NSWMA is also reporting that despite the curfews implemented under the Disaster Risk Management Act during the period under review, the agency exceeded its target of earning $407.1 million in revenue through waste haulage and disposal services, raking in an additional $26.4 million.
Revenue was also generated from landfill tickets and anti-litter tickets.
The NSWMA reported that owing to the impact of COVID-19 on commercial activities, it saw a 7.2-per-cent decline in commercial revenue for 2020-21 when compared with the previous financial year.
The authority has steadily increased its issuance of removal notices over the years and recorded 7,380 removal notices issued in 2020-21, which surpassed its target of 4,800 by 2,580 and represented a 3.1-per-cent increase over the number issued in the previous year.
Removal notices are served to anyone who conducts an activity which poses a serious threat to natural resources or to public health. Such situations include debris on roadways, improperly containerised waste, and improper disposal of waste, among other things.
Litter tickets issued in 2020-21 increased by 16 per cent over the previous reporting financial year. The target of issuing 1,600 anti-litter tickets was exceeded by 119.