Page 524 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 June 1989
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a strong and consistent view put to me that clearly there is a need for urgent attention to be given to methods of recycling in the Territory and what measures we can take as an administration in setting down the legal framework for people to operate in, to provide systems which are sensible and rational for encouraging the conservation of our resources, particularly throwaway waste and other resources.
Yesterday the Assembly agreed to refer to the Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and Environment a set of references which include looking at energy and efficient use of energy resources. This, I think, complements it very well and ensures that we are looking at the full range of perhaps the most important environmental questions facing us at this time.
Of course recycling is very important, it is becoming more important in people's eyes, but of course there is also a the other question in the ACT which cannot be ignored at the moment, and that is the desire on the part of many people to emulate the way in which other States and territories have gone in bringing in big bins. That poses a very serious problem because it is very true that to some extent big bins militate against proper recycling.
Big bins, I am reliably informed, do encourage people to throw more away because they have more space and they can very easily throw waste into the bin. There is no need for garbage bag liners and things of that kind. Unfortunately, it encourages more waste and of course, people having thrown those things away in their big bins, it is very hard then to attempt to sort waste into different kinds of categories - paper, oil, glass, whatever - with the result that recycling is greatly hindered. In looking at big bins it is essential to balance the requirements for perhaps cheaper, certainly more efficient waste disposal with the requirement, which obviously everybody accepts, that we should be recycling more of the waste that our society generates.
I was pleased to hear the Minister say that she will be examining other systems. It is very important to take the experience of other places. I am sure that many communities around this country have experiences that we can draw on. We are quite late in picking up some of these issues, particularly in terms of big bins and, I am sure, of recycling as well. There is now a wealth of experience both in this country and overseas that we can employ to ensure that our system is the best.
Given the consciousness that I mentioned yesterday on the part of the ACT community about these sorts of issues, I am very sure that a system which is sensible and cost-effective will be supported by the population of the ACT. I look forward to getting to grips with these issues.
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