Page 2654 - Week 09 - Thursday, 9 August 1990
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most but which will not place an unreasonable burden of cost on the people of Canberra.
Reducing the amount of litter in the ACT, encouraging waste minimisation, introducing the most effective waste collection system, increasing the levels of recycling and ensuring effective landfill practices are all worthwhile goals which this Government supports and is striving to achieve. However, in the current situation where severe economic restraints are being forced upon us due to the unreasonably hard line being taken by the Commonwealth, the most cost-effective ways of achieving these goals have to be taken.
A good way of illustrating the benefits of this approach is to look at the question of recycling. To quote the words of Mrs Grassby in this Assembly on 29 June last year, "Recycling for the sake of recycling is not beneficial to anyone". When considering recycling, there are many factors which need attention. You need to consider the cost of collecting the recyclables and balance this against the benefits to the environment and the costs which would have been incurred by disposing of the material to landfill. Then you need to ask the question: will anyone buy the recyclables which I have collected? If the answer is no, then you need to ask: is there any way of establishing a market for these recyclables? Or, if the market is weak: is there a way of reducing the cost of collecting them so that the operation will become viable? It was these kinds of questions which we had to ask when considering the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and Environment.
Mr Acting Speaker, in the budget we will be announcing the funding which has been allocated for these initiatives. This funding will be spent on, amongst other things, the promotion of recycling and composting, facilitating the collection of recyclables and monitoring the effectiveness of recycling and waste management initiatives. I am pleased to say that the Alliance Government has already introduced a number of measures advocated by the committee.
A promotional campaign has already begun on recycling and composting, with the launch of "Recycling Roo" at the Canberra Show earlier this year. This is a very popular promotion with the children of the city. Brochures have been produced and distributed on recycling and composting and an officer has been appointed to run the promotion campaign. This new initiative by the Alliance Government should greatly increase the use of existing recycling and composting facilities. The reduction in the amount of material going to landfill as a result of this initiative will also assist in waste minimisation and efficient landfill management.
During the 1989-90 financial year, $160,000 was spent on upgrading paper and oil recycling facilities at landfill sites. The Alliance Government is showing its strong
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