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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 13 Hansard (7 December) . . Page.. 3852 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

The majority of recommended improvements to the environmental operation of the West Belconnen landfill are in the area of waste management practices. Waste management practices can be improved in terms of organisational structure, allocation of responsibilities, waste classification, waste tracking, screening of waste and compliance auditing.

Further recommendations are made regarding the implementation of a quality control system and a fully structured and documented system for staff training, particularly in relation to work practices and OH&S procedures. A clear communication protocol with external government agencies in matters of public importance will be established as a central component of the emergency procedures.

I will table the full report, but I will summarise the proposed improvements. The roles and responsibilities of the landfill "operator" and landfill "owner" are in the process of being reviewed and more clearly defined following the separation of the landfill unit from ACT Waste in July 1999. Operations at the landfill were spread and the chain of responsibility unclear. The review will be completed as soon as practicable.

Formal contractual relationships will be established between the main agencies responsible for operations at the landfill, ie., ACT Waste, the City Operations landfill unit and Totalcare Industries Ltd. A system of overlapping responsibilities between the waste generator, transporter, and landfill operator will be established, with the waste generator to be primarily responsible for the correct disposal of the waste. The current system relies on a level of trust between the ACT Government and the waste generators and transporters. However, recent events at the West Belconnen landfill have shown that such an approach is open to abuse and can lead to problems with the receipt of incorrectly classified waste.

The waste classification system used in the ACT will be reviewed to see whether "miscellaneous" wastes can be renamed. This will ensure that the hazards posed by these wastes are more readily recognised, and that more attention is given to the manner in which they are received, inspected, and approved for disposal at the landfill. Waste generators who dispose of "miscellaneous" waste at the West Belconnen landfill will be required to retest the waste on a regular basis in order to confirm that the contaminant concentrations remain within allowable limits.

Environment ACT will be given responsibility for issuing all approvals for the transport and acceptance of waste to landfill for wastes other than "inert", "municipal waste", "food waste", and "vegetative waste from agriculture or horticulture" as well as for developing procedures for waste classification. Waste generators would then need to apply directly to Environment ACT for these waste approvals.

The current waste tracking system will be expanded to provide true "chain of custody" security for wastes other than "inert", and provide whole-of-life control. A screening system will be established to provide an appropriate level of confidence that an unacceptable quantity of waste is not being incorrectly disposed at the landfill. The system will involve the erection of signs and viewing platforms, random inspections of loads, establishment of a quarantine area, development of a computer database, and

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