Page 4066 - Week 11 - Thursday, 21 September 2017
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The network operator will be the one dealing with the day-to-day operation of the scheme, ensuring that bottles and cans are able to be redeemed for a 10c refund at sites throughout Canberra. The network operator will also be responsible for establishing a network of collection points where the community can return their empty beverage containers. The network operator may enter into agreements with collection point operators under which they will agree to pay collection point operators the refund amount as well as a handling fee in relation to eligible containers redeemed at a collection point.
The CDS will enable eligible containers collected through co-mingled kerbside recycling to be redeemable for the 10c refund. The bill proposes a method for redeeming these containers without having to manually separate them from the broader recycling stream. This process will avoid additional handling costs for containers that are being recycled anyway.
Refunds for these containers will be shared between the material recovery facility that processes these containers and the territory. This is to ensure that the scheme does not prejudice the existing co-mingled recycling system. To ensure that the integrity of the CDS is upheld, the scheme requires a verification number for all containers collected. Without verification it may be easy for collection points to inflate the number of containers collected from the public.
There will be penalties in place for fraudulent behaviour and any misreporting. This scheme will have a high level of transparency and effectiveness with regard to auditing and reporting on the verification process. Legislated performance targets in the bill will ensure transparency and accountability of the scheme. An annual report prepared by the scheme coordinator will be required to be tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly. Monitoring of recovered containers, community engagement and the performance of collection points will be reported in the annual report. In addition, as the responsible minister for the scheme, I will have the power to direct the designated waste manager responsible for compliance within TCCS to conduct performance audits at any time.
Contractual agreements established under the act will include incentives for good performance. These could include provisions to allow a contract to be extended due to good performance. On the other hand, appropriate penalties will be incorporated if requirements are not met, such as community access targets not being achieved. To evaluate and identify recovery rates of recycled containers in the ACT waste stream and community engagement with the CDS, the bill aligns with industry approved methodologies. The methodologies will assist the scheme coordinator and TCCS in accurately counting the number of eligible containers collected through co-mingled kerbside recycling systems as well as other network arrangements.
To further evaluate the overall performance of the scheme, Transport Canberra and City Services will facilitate a review of the scheme after five years of operation. As outlined earlier, the scheme will create revenue-raising opportunities for charities, schools and community groups as well as possible income streams for disadvantaged
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