Page 5946 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 8 December 2010
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The government is calling on the community to submit their views on the draft strategy, which sets new targets for resource recovery here in the territory to 80 per cent by 2015, 85 per cent by 2020 and to over 90 per cent by 2025. This would result in over 40,000 tonnes of household waste being diverted from landfill each year as well as the diversion from landfill of up to 70,000 tonnes a year of commercial waste.
This strategy focuses on four key areas in terms of achieving these outcomes. The first is less waste generated. The second is full resource recovery. The third is a cleaner Canberra. The fourth is a carbon neutral waste sector. A range of measures are identified to achieve these outcomes. They include options such as the development of a new materials recovery facility for commercial waste at the Hume resource recovery estate and the development of a mixed residual recovery facility for organic waste
from households and the commercial sector. The strategy emphasises a waste management hierarchy that encourages ACT residents and businesses to reduce, reuse, recycle, recover resources such as energy and, lastly, dispose of any remaining waste safely into landfill.
The consultation period, to the end of February, will not only allow interested residents, businesses and community groups the opportunity to contribute views on the draft strategy but also provide the opportunity to learn about the complexities of dealing with waste in the territory.
The strategy also identifies options to use energy from waste technologies to produce energy from some organic waste, such as wood and contaminated paper, cardboard or food, where it cannot be recycled.
The government will be consulting with the public and will run a series of community forums and workshops in Canberra in early February next year to seek community views. Of course, it is very disappointing—
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! That is enough.
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, you are now warned.
MR CORBELL: This is a very important draft strategy for the Canberra community to have their say on. How we deal with waste in our community moving forward is a very important piece of public policy for our city. Waste is a significant challenge for our city. Whilst we have the highest levels of resource recovery in the country, this new strategy is designed to ensure that we achieve still greater levels of resource recovery, maintain our leadership position across the nation and do so through the delivery of a range of technologies and a range of services to capture more waste, to reuse it and to further reduce waste going to landfill.
It is very important that Canberrans have their say on this new policy. The government has, in conjunction with the release of the draft strategy, released a series of technical consultancies that underpin our thinking in relation to the draft strategy
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