Landfill Full Cost Accounting Guide for New Zealand

Acknowledgements

Preface

1 Introduction

2 Current Overseas and New Zealand Practice

3 Legislative Framework

4 Landfill Full Cost Accounting

5 Model Input Parameters

6 Income Streams

7 Model User Guide

8 Expanding the Model: Other Waste Management System Costs

9 Illegal Dumping

Glossary

References

Appendix A: Landfill FCA Model - Overview, Structure and Algorithm Flowcharts

Appendix B: Landfill FCA Model Input Costs - Default Values

Appendix C: FCA Landfill Model - Description of Costs not included in the Model

Appendix D: Financial Assurance

Appendix E: Typical Example - District Landfill Site

Appendix F: Landfill FCA Model - Blank Copies of Worksheets

6 Income Streams

Incomes from the landfill, or various components of the waste management system, may be included in the FCA analysis. Income can arise from the following sources and activities:

• landfill user charges
• uniform annual charges for waste management services in rates
• lease of land not used for landfilling purposes
• sale of trees or crops
• sale of landfill gas (this income may continue after landfill closure)
• sale of excavated material
• sale of rubbish bags
• sale of recyclables
• sale of compost
• income from rates.

In assessing income it is important to recognise the influence of other components of the waste system and the changing nature and quantity of residual waste to landfill. In some cases waste tonnages can be accurately forecast and hence income can similarly be forecast accurately. However, in other situations, commercial waste 'control', or changing residual waste quantities - such as a result of waste reduction or recycling initiatives, waste diversion, provision of alternate (cheaper) residual disposal facilities - can have a major effect on income, both short and long term, and hence can significantly affect landfill economics.

A key decision for TLA waste managers is the structuring of user charges - the basis of the 'income' component of the model. The specifics vary from case to case, but a key advantage of the FCA model is that the effect of changing tonnages and incomes can be readily modelled and the effects on gate rates and landfill development programmes rapidly re-assessed. This enables changes to be made to development planning and charging to suit changes in circumstances. In the case of Brownfields models, the sensitivity of the IBC and hence gate rate to changing waste tonnage/income needs to be carefully assessed, as such landfills can be susceptible to significant indicated movements in the IBC due to the effects of reducing waste tonnages.