Page 3525 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 15 November 2006
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cannot say that they are 24 hours a day. But in the busiest times of the day the standard level of crewing is for seven ambulances. I think they are slightly reduced between 12 midnight and 6.00 am.
Waste management
MR GENTLEMAN: My question is to the Minister for the Territory and Municipal Services. Could the minister report on what efforts the government has initiated to support sustainable waste management in the territory?
MR HARGREAVES: I thank Mr Gentleman for the question. I note his interest in sustainability issues.
Opposition members interjecting—
MR HARGREAVES: Where are my table tennis balls? Mr Speaker, opposition members may not be aware that the government’s no waste strategy has three key objectives: the provision of high quality garbage collection and disposal services that are hygienic and cost effective; the provision of high quality recycling services that are easily accessible and cost effective and the promotion of sustainable waste reduction and recycling by encouraging new and innovative resource recovery industries.
In the 2005-06 financial year, 75 per cent of waste in the ACT was diverted from landfill. The amount of material recovered continues to rise, by four per cent on the previous year, or an extra 24,500 tonnes. In total, in 2005-06 the ACT recycled, reused and recovered more than 579,400 tonnes. As in the previous year, large quantities of waste from gardens, that is, 208,600 tonnes, and demolition sources of 221,800 tonnes were reprocessed to make quality new products. The Stanhope Labor government is providing great leadership in this area, and the Canberra community, the business community, as well as territory and federal government departments continue to make good use of recycling.
A critical element of the government’s strategy is the no waste awards. The ACT no waste awards were originally developed in 2004 with the aim of celebrating the efforts of businesses, schools and community groups who were champions in the field of waste minimisation. The inaugural no waste awards presentation ceremony in 2004 was one of my first duties as the then Minister for Urban Services, and it was a truly memorable experience to see the dedication of so many in the community delivering tangible waste minimisation outcomes.
In this, the third year of the awards, it is clear that the efforts of those involved continue to improve, and this is significantly contributing to the culture change that is necessary to achieve the government’s no waste objectives. The word is spreading and the competition for the awards gets stronger each year.
In 2004, ANU Green took out the gold award on the strength of the organisation’s comprehensive efforts in responsible waste minimisation, while Canberra International Airport received the silver award and Shop Basics received the bronze. In the following year, 2005, Canberra International Airport went one better and took
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