Page 3839 - Week 13 - Thursday, 18 October 1990
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Mr Berry: A backyard full of rubbish.
MR JENSEN: Yes, Mr Berry. Saturdays come around too quickly. We are also liaising with other State and Territory governments on issues such as ways to reduce packaging to make it easier to recycle. I might admit that I am doing a little bit of composting, Mr Berry, to help in that area.
One of the other aspects of this Government's response is the cost-effectiveness of the proposals. Because of the emphasis on better utilisation - utilising existing facilities and cooperating with industry and other governments rather than doing things in isolation - the ACT taxpayers can be assured of a good return on their money.
Before I close I would like to make a brief comment. In fact, it is a plea to those people who make use of our tips on the weekends and during the week. Anyone driving to work on a Monday morning, after the majority of people have taken their rubbish to the tip, who compares the roadside with what it was like on the Friday afternoon, will note that there is a major increase in paper and other rubbish at the side of the road, adding, I would suggest, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, to the untidy nature of our city. I make a plea, through this place, that people, when they use this facility, when they take this type of matter and material to our rubbish facilities, make sure that it is covered so that we do not have this mess on the main roads to the dumps on the Monday morning. Clearly this is a cost to the ACT Government because officers of Mr Duby's department are required to go around and clean up this mess. I encourage the community to get behind us and ensure that loads are covered and that this mess is cleaned up. Let us take pride in our city.
MR COLLAERY (Minister for Housing and Community Services) (3.33): The Government's response to the inquiry into commercial and domestic waste management shows our strong commitment to the environment. The Government's response effectively put into practice the principles which were outlined in the environment policy statement titled "Caring for Canberra". The importance we place on the initiatives outlined in the response is shown by the fact that we have committed $300,000 towards implementing them in this financial year. The whole thrust of the Government's response was aimed towards measures which would protect our environment and conserve our natural resources through waste minimisation.
To this end, some of the major initiatives in the Government's response concern recycling and composting. I am pleased to announce that some of these initiatives are already being put in place. A recycling officer has been appointed to run the recycling campaign, and as part of this a recycling and awareness day will be held in early
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