The ACT Greens have called on the Government to include organic waste recycling in the 2010-11 Budget and fulfil it’s commitment in the Greens/ALP Agreement.

“Canberra’s waste management and recycling will always be inadequate until the Government tackles organic waste” Greens waste spokesperson, Caroline Le Couteur MLA, said today.

“We’re falling behind. A buried independent review of the ACT Government’s waste strategy concluded last year that: The progress being made in other jurisdictions towards introducing efforts to recover organic materials from the domestic waste stream is certainly out-pacing that of the ACT.

 “Organics recycling is one of the top priorities for the Greens as it makes up half of residential waste. It is part of our Parliamentary Agreement with the Labor Party, but so far the Government has taken no action.”

“There are many viable options for Canberra that are also cost effective – especially when you factor in long term benefits, such as additional jobs, emissions reduction, production of compost, and the extended life of landfills.

The Agreement requires the Government to conduct a trial of organic waste recycling in multiunit residential developments, but we are also calling for:

• Investment in organics recycling technology such as “hot rot” systems or “anaerobic digestion”;
• Initial targeting of organic waste produced in the commercial sector, with a rollout to capture organic waste produced by Canberra residents.
• Use of the processed organic material in an ACT “soil improvement programme” to sequester CO2 and help mitigate climate change.

“The current situation is absurd. We fill the landfill with material that breaks down to produce tonnes of greenhouse gases when it could all be processed into valuable non-polluting organic compost, which actually helps soil to sequester carbon.”
 
“I was glad to hear the Chief Minister recently acknowledging that organic waste is a critical issue, but now we’re looking for real action from the Government.” said Ms Le Couteur.

The Greens have expressed concern about the lack of a reusables service at Mugga Lane Resource Management centre after Aussie Junk – the company the ACT Government contracted to do the job – went into liquidation.

Greens Spokesperson on Waste, Caroline Le Couteur MLA today called on Mr Stanhope to ensure a recycling service starts operating at the landfill immediately, even if it is for an interim period.

“We’ve known since May that Aussie Junk were going under. It’s now August and we’re facing a potentially long period without this recycling service.” Ms Le Couteur said.

“The tender process will give us more months of limbo. Goods that should be reused are already piling up, and we can’t allow a situation where these end up being dumped in the landfill.”

“The Greens would like the Government to look at an interim contract and the possibility of a ‘free-cycle’ model to attract new customers over this period.”

Ms Le Couteur also questioned the Government’s overall handling of the Aussie Junk issue.

“Not only has the Government been slow off the mark, it has struggled to answer questions about its original contracting of Aussie Junk.”

“We’re still waiting for Mr Stanhope to explain allegations that the Government was given a statutory declaration about Aussie Junk’s illegal workplace practices prior to its decision to give Aussie Junk the Mugga Lane contract.”

“I am also concerned that the Government is currently using Theiss, who are the landfill managers, to also manage the Mugga Lane reusables site. There is a potential conflict of interest here, given the fact that Theiss collect money for sending materials to landfill.” Ms Le Couteur said.

The Greens have applauded Chief Minister John Stanhope’s preparedness to take on good waste management ideas, even when recommended by a Greens MLA.

Greens spokesperson on waste, Caroline Le Couteur MLA asked the Chief Minister in question time last week to provide recycling drop off points at all Government shopfronts and libraries that would accept batteries and fluorescent light globes for recycling.

“Mr Stanhope was positive about my suggestion, acknowledging that there were limited places for the public to take these items, and he committed to looking at the possibility of extending drop off points to public locations.” Ms Le Couteur said.

“Batteries and fluorescent light globes are highly toxic items that can be recycled, yet they mostly end up in our landfill.”

“A key problem is the inconvenience of having only two places the public can drop off batteries and light globes for recycling; the Mitchell and Mugga Lane Resource Centres.”

“It’s a real disincentive for people to have to travel so far, or hoard these items in their homes. It will make a huge difference if battery and light globe drop off points are in more convenient locations.”

“The Greens want to see something put in place quickly, so we can make it easier for the public to recycle and stop environmentally hazardous materials going into landfills.” said Ms Le Couteur.

ACT Greens spokesperson for Waste, Caroline Le Couteur MLA has described the release of a 2008 report on the ‘No Waste’ strategy as an important turning point which should bring about a new approach to waste management.

“The Greens have pushed and pushed to be able to see this independent report, which the Government has held onto since June last year – probably because it is quite critical of the Government’s efforts. Without the pressure from the Greens this report would have been buried and recommendations lost.” Ms Le Couteur said.

“The Government now must use this report to seriously improve its approach to waste. Its release will also allow the community and stakeholders to see the real picture and to be more involved in influencing the Government’s waste policies.”

The report reveals that the progress made in waste reduction is in danger of regressing if emerging signs continue. It also says the Government cannot afford to go backwards or stand still when it comes to funding for waste reduction, or with its waste reduction targets.

“Despite this – and the fact that the average waste to landfill per person in Canberra is increasing – the Government has failed to set improved targets this year.”

“The Greens want the Government to improve its targets, to refocus on waste prevention and producer responsibility, to take strong action in the area of commercial waste, and to implement other Greens initiatives such as organic waste recycling.” Ms Le Couteur said.

The report is now available here.

The ACT Greens are calling on the ACT Government to use tomorrow’s meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) to make industry responsible for waste reduction.

“We understand that the ACT Government has recognised that extended producer responsibility is part of the solution” ACT Greens Spokesperson for Territory and Municipal Services, Caroline Le Couteur MLA said today.

“But we need a national approach to make this happen, which is why the issue needs to be raised in the Council meeting tomorrow.”

“Many people are calling for container deposit legislation, but the issue is bigger than that. We’ve got too much waste at all levels: ranging from e-waste such as PCs and mobile phones, to unnecessary packaging for food and clothing.”

“This will never change unless the producers have to accept responsibility for recycling and reusing what they produce.”

“We also need to see Producer and Retailer Responsibility issues addressed in the new ACT Government waste strategy.”

“The ACT’s ‘No Waste by 2010′ Strategy has served us well until now, but it’s almost 2010 and we still make too much waste. It is unclear how or when the Government intends to deal with waste management in the ACT beyond this year. The Government produced an internal review on the current strategy last year, but it is not yet public. At the very least, the Government should release that review now before the new strategy is in place.”

“Canberra has one of the highest levels of consumption in Australia, so we produce more waste overall despite our good recycling efforts. One way to reduce the overall amount of waste is to produce things with less packaging, and ensure that packaging is made with fully recyclable, and where possible, recycled materials.”

“That is why we need to extend Producer and Retailer Responsibility both nationally and locally” Ms Le Couteur said.

Waste solutions for the commercial sector and recycling bins in town centres are key initiatives of the Greens Waste policy, announced today by candidate for Molonglo, Shane Rattenbury.

“At present the commercial sector sends around 30,000 tonnes of waste to landfill each year, and the government does not offer any waste solutions to the commercial sector,” said Rattenbury. “This inevitably leads to most buildings have on average one hopper, or one system for landfill and one for paper at best, meaning minimal recycling.”

“The Greens would like to see the Government offer a recycling scheme which runs throughout town centres and includes the commercial sector. Each building should be provided with 4 hoppers – one each for landfill, glass and plastic containers, paper and cardboard, and organic waste.”

“The cost of commercial rates can be increased slightly to reflect this cost if need be, which would not affect the bottom line of business owners, as they would not need to pay for as many hoppers to landfill anymore.”

The Greens also want to see recycling bins installed at street level across town centres.

“Many cities and small towns throughout Australia now have urban recycling schemes in their town centres, yet Canberrans are not given the opportunity to dispose of their drink bottles or paper waste responsibly. It begs the question why not?”

“There has been a yellow recycling bin “Trial” in Glebe Park since February 2006, yet the government has not indicated when it will move forward on a wider roll-out. It seems the government is not serious on delivering on the No Waste strategy.”

“The argument that there would be too much contamination of non-recyclables in these bins does not hold, as provided the 2 bins are put side by side, convenience is equal and people already understand how to separate their rubbish as they do it at home.”

The Greens also want a green waste kerbside collection service introduced.

“We are pleased to see that the Liberal Party has also adopted this policy position, although we have some concerns about their approach. Our understanding is that garden waste should be handled separately to kitchen organic waste, as garden waste can simply be mulched for reuse in gardens, but organic waste need to be composted at high temperatures to ensure that all bacteria are eliminated. This is something that clearly needs further discussion.”

ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey criticised the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services for refusing to release a review of the ACT Government’s No Waste Strategy.

“If we really want a no waste plan, we need to recycle the Minister” Dr Foskey said today.

“The review of the No Waste Strategy was completed at the end of May. In answer my question in the Assembly today Minister Hargreaves said he wouldn’t release it. I imagine it damns him for wasting time.”

“The State of the Environment report released today made it clear that while we are good recyclers in Canberra we are even better at generating waste.”

“Until this Minister is prepared to offer some leadership on home and garden waste collection, and improved recycling for businesses and in public places, we will continue to move in the wrong direction.”

“Today when I asked the Minister what changes the Government was making to that Strategy he refused to answer.”

“That might be because he has no idea what was happening with the review and the action plan for the next few years, or because he is so embarrassed at what he has failed to deliver.”

“The ACT is not well served by the current Minister for Waste who has been wasting time on this issue for years” Dr Foskey said.