Page 2503 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 23 August 1994
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It can be used for pipe and duct insulation. There are an enormous number of building applications, all from a recycled material that at the moment in the ACT is a problem and a half. As I said, any paper materials can be used. Imagine all the shredding that goes on in this Assembly. Would not members like to see their shredded documents up on the walls, inside the ceiling and in various other places?
This company put proposals to various governments throughout Australia. Let me tell you what happened to one of those proposals. A letter to this company from the City of Berwick in Victoria, dated 22 April 1994, states:
I am pleased to advise you that Council has formally resolved to allocate up to $350,000 of Council funds towards erecting a building complete with heat transfer equipment adjacent to the power station at the Narre Warren Regional Landfill. This building and equipment could be made available to your Company for the installation of your cellulous fibre manufacturing plant.
The Berwick Council - and another eight councils have joined in - have started reusing all that methane gas energy coming from the dumps. They have a methane gas energy generation company operating on the tip, and very soon they will have a recycling building product company operating beside it, using the energy that comes from the dump as well as recycled materials such as newspaper and other papers. The council have said that they will be part of that and will supply that material, if necessary. They will sort it as well. They say:
As you are aware a town planning permit has been obtained for the building and preliminary discussions have taken place with Energy Developments Limited ...
That is the company that has the energy operation on site. They go on to say that the newly formed Waste Management Committee, a State Government body, has approved a grant of $300,000 to the council toward the building and heat transfer component of this project. The council has bent over backwards. They conclude by saying:
Council looks forward to working closely with you on this exciting project and would be very keen to see the first stage of the project producing commercially marketable product by the end of 1994.
They presented the same idea to Western Australia. The Western Australian Government replied straightaway; they were very interested. The Queensland Government went even further. They said, "You can have the land. We will give you $1m. As this money rolls in, we will pay half, up to $1m". Exactly the same proposal was put to the ACT. Unfortunately, we let the side down. We did not reply to it. After many months I got involved and we got a reply, but it said that it was not suitable in the ACT because our dumps are not like that. Apparently there is something about how much you need and all the rest of it. Nevertheless, because paper or newspaper recycling is a problem in Canberra, is there not potential for that? Would it not be worthwhile to encourage? We could have jumped on board that proposal, and it is still not too late. I know that the company is interested in any proposals throughout Australia.
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