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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 5 Hansard (9 May) . . Page.. 1307 ..
MR SMYTH (continuing):
Waste Inventory have been benchmarked and will be targeted over the next three years to 2002. My department is planning to conduct organic trials using a new combination of bins during 2000-2001 with a view to further reducing domestic waste disposal.
In addition, trials involving the commercial food processing industries are being planned for late this year. Collection of recyclables in public places, including shopping centres, will also be undertaken over the 12 months commencing July 2000.
The ACT government is signatory to the National Packaging Covenant for Used Packaging Materials, which has been developed to encourage a market-based approach to the recovery of packaging and to improve the stability of kerbside collection systems.
Options for legislation will need to be considered in the context of the enabling legislation needed for the National Environment Protection Measure for Used Packaging Materials. ACT Waste will engage consultants in 2000 to determine the actual cost of disposing the various categories of waste and will develop and implement a waste pricing strategy that reflects the actual cost of waste disposal and provides both incentives and resources for waste reduction.
My department is also participating in the establishment of the Australasian market development network to obtain access to technologies, which will assist with the identification and selection of suitable technologies for local application. ACT Waste will continue to undertake research and development targeted at specific waste materials. In addition, there are new technologies emerging that address waste management issues from cleaner production to waste-to-energy. My department will continue to monitor and investigate initiatives as they emerge.
The development of sustainable markets for recovered materials is imperative to the success of the no waste strategy. The ACT government's efforts in developing markets for recycled products are gaining momentum. ACT Waste has worked closely with the community and recovery industries to create opportunities for robust recycling markets.
In 1999 ACT Waste became a foundation administrator of the Australian Reusable Resource Network, an online trading site for reusable materials. The network currently covers Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT, with a view to taking the network Australia-wide. Participation in local and national "think tanks" such as the ACT Waste Management Forum and the Australian Market Development Network keep the ACT up to date on market developments and ensure regional and national consistency.
The development control code for best practice waste management in the ACT, launched on 1 November 1999, is expected to result in a considerable increase in the reuse of materials generated from demolition. The code requires developers to submit a waste management plan detailing how waste from demolition sites will be recycled. The code's effectiveness in reducing the quantities of demolition and construction materials going to landfill is currently being monitored by ACT Waste.
The initiatives detailed above are to be progressed between 2000 and 2002. A formal review of the progress will be conducted and new programs implemented for the periods 2003 through to 2006 and then 2007 through to 2010. The next step programs will be
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