Page 1215 - Week 03 - Thursday, 31 March 2011
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cent of green waste, the highest rate in Australia. In 2009-10, the facilities recovered 186,700 tonnes of material, which was 31 per cent of all material recovered that year.
Recent independent benchmarking also shows that the system delivers excellent value for money when compared to other jurisdictions, minimising rates and levies in the ACT. This system is a source-separation system. Corkhill Brothers and Canberra Sand and Gravel must receive clean green waste, being garden waste that does not contain dirt, building waste, bricks or other contaminants. The facilities process the material and do remove some contaminants on site, but their models rely on receiving clean green waste with very low levels of contamination.
Many of these recycling services are co-located with waste facilities and are offered free of charge to maximise source-separated recycling. For instance, if you take a load of mixed waste to the Mugga Lane resource management centre, you can drop off your second-hand goods, paper, cardboard and glass, mobile phones and many other items for free, before you pay to send the rest of your load to landfill. This system is based on the waste pricing strategy, which seeks to encourage recycling and minimise waste to landfill.
The department is also running a source-separation recycling trial at the Mitchell resource management centre. The recycling trial commenced in February and will run into April. The trial relies on customers sorting their recycling into separate bays and includes common building waste such as soil, timber, bricks and concrete. So far it has recovered 926 tonnes of material, which is 43 per cent of material received at that facility.
ACT NOWaste is considering more improvements to the system to achieve better results. I am pleased to say that participation rates have been excellent, with enthusiastic cooperation from the vast majority of customers. Results of the trial will be used when designing future contracts and facilities in the long term and in the short term. It is hoped that the increased recovery rate can continue, with on-site arrangements.
Historically, the ACT has had excellent results from the recycling of construction and demolition waste. Since 2004-05, that sector has typically sent between 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of material to landfill, despite being one of the major waste generators in Canberra. The recycling industry is largely privately operated, with several facilities accepting builders’ waste for a fee that is lower than the fee for landfill. Those facilities usually offer better rates for clean source-separate material such as concrete separated from dirt. This provides customers who can separate their material with the opportunity to save money by doing so. The facilities also use sort lines to process mixed waste.
Unfortunately, over the last two years, construction and demolition waste to landfill has increased. In 2009-10, around 39,000 tonnes were sent to landfill, and this year that figure may rise even higher. Canberra’s naturally high levels of construction and increased activity as a result most particularly of the federal stimulus package and the continuing strength of the ACT economy have contributed to the overall increase in material. Simultaneous changes to the recycling industry, including the liquidation in
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