According to annual research by the Centre for Research on Local Government Economics (COELO), municipal housing costs, sewage and waste taxes will rise dramatically this year.
This year, the government will be increasing waste taxes by 139 percent. Waste processing companies pay waste levies for the refuse that they burn or send to landfills. These costs are then passed on to municipalities and will be 3,5 to 4 percent higher this year.
In Haarlem, taxes for those renting accommodation will be rising the most, namely 18 percent, which is equivalent to 59 euros. In Assen, the cost of this tax will actually fall, and with it decreasing by 4,4 percent or 17 euros, it will be the largest decline in the country.
On average, municipal housing costs for homeowners with a multiple-person household will increase by 4,3 percent to 702 euros per year. In Enschede, homeowners will experience the highest costs, at 856 euros per year, whilst those in possession of a house in The Hague will pay the least, at 563 euros.
According to COELO, increasing municipal taxes are to be expected, as they rise in line with inflation, however, the increase in waste taxes is conspicuous. The increase is due to the steps that municipalities are taking towards sustainability.
Implementing and having recycling measures succeed in creating less waste takes time. “Municipalities need to get households to separate more waste so that more can be recycled and less is incinerated”, Corine Hoeben, a researcher at COELO, expresses. She adds that this, “costs time and meanwhile, municipalities have to cover the extra costs. They do this by increasing waste levies, amongst other things”.