Page 1962 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 23 June 2021
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(c) the ACT Government has expertise in setting up recycling arrangements, having built producer responsibility into the ACT Government next generation household battery program and having established television and computer recycling under national product stewardship arrangements; and
(d) the Victorian Government is participating in and leading national product stewardship arrangements but is also taking state-based action at the same time, having banned all e-waste including general electrical appliances, solar panels, solar battery systems and inverters from landfill in July 2019; and
(3) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) investigate how the ACT can contribute to the establishment of national recycling arrangements for general electrical appliances, solar PV panels and inverters and large batteries that power EVs, buildings and grids;
(b) liaise with the Commonwealth to confirm which of these items will be covered by a national product stewardship scheme commencing within the next 12 months;
(c) advocate through national channels for collection and national recycling arrangements for any of these items not covered by a national product stewardship scheme commencing in the next 12 months;
(d) advocate through national forums including the Environment Ministers Meeting to investigate business models and payment arrangements to cover recycling and freight costs for the local collection and national recycling of these items, including user pays, product stewardship, producer responsibility and government pays;
(e) report back to the Assembly by February 2022 on options and a timeline for a recycling scheme to minimise waste going to landfill for the following products:
(i) general electrical appliances;
(ii) solar PV panels and inverters; and
(iii) large batteries used to power EVs, buildings and grids; and
(f) consider banning e-waste from ACT Government landfill sites as part of the development of future circular economy legislation.
We have had a pretty big week in my office. We are short-staffed and we have been working on active transport, cycling and recycling. I care about all of these issues deeply. Each one represents a piece of a puzzle—how do we tackle climate change while taking care of our community and how do we live more lightly on our planet while still living well? While hunting around for inspiration for this speech, after another very long day in the office, I did the smart thing—I outsourced it to my seven-year-old and asked her what I should say about recycling. Here is what she came up with:
Recycling is better than throwing stuff away because it helps the planet and ensures stuff does not go to landfill.
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