Page 3482 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 11 October 1994
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(3) Seepage from disposable nappies after compaction would be insignificant as landfilled wastes have the capacity to absorb moisture before any seepage occurs.
(4) The general public and waste workers do not come into direct contact with household garbage placed at the landfills. Household garbage deposited at the landfills by the garbage vehicles is compacted and covered on a daily basis.
All "seepage" through the compacted waste is collected by a specially designed leachate drainage system and contained on-site. The only water discharged from landfills in the ACT is stormwater which is collected separately and treated to reduce the sediment load before release. All such releases are only undertaken with the prior approval of the Office of the Environment.
(5) There is no need to take special precautions for seepage from disposable nappies, before or after compaction, as the volumes are comparatively small in the context of landfilled waste. Any seepage from disposable nappies is collected in leachate at the landfill.
(6) In common with many other materials disposed of at landfill, the synthetic fabric of a disposable nappy will take a considerable time to degrade within the fill. The organic contents will degrade considerably faster due to the action of naturally occurring bacteria within the landfill. The rate at which the products break down will vary with soil types and adjacent wastes.
(7) The incinerator facility at Mitchell is available to the public for disposal on a fee for service basis.
(8) The manufacturers of disposable nappies do not pay a levy for the disposal of disposable nappies. The operation of such a levy in the ACT alone would be unenforceable and it is not clear how such a levy would benefit the disposal of nappies.
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