Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3760 ..

MR CORNWELL: Thank you. This is one step. I think I mentioned in this place before that when my wife and I go walking each morning we take a plastic bag with us and pick up bottles and cans. I must admit that there is more to pick up on a Monday morning than perhaps a Friday.

Obviously people still need to be reminded of this problem of waste. It is not just litter; it clearly is waste. The fact is that you can take it home, you can put it in your own bin and it can be recycled. People just don't realise that so much can be recycled. I wonder, minister, whether we shouldn't be putting yellow bins in parks and areas where people go for picnics. People are used to the yellow bin, which is divided by a barrier into two sections, and perhaps better use would be made of such bins if they were placed in these areas.

I deplore the fact that we do not have the number of rubbish bins around Canberra that we used to have. I don't think we can expect people to always take their garbage home. Because of the absence of bins, too many people are just dropping their garbage on the ground.

There are some practical problems with disposing of garbage. What happens if you are standing at a bus stop with a can of drink when the bus comes? You can't drink on board a bus so, unfortunately, people deck their can; they leave it at the bus stop. If there isn't a rubbish bin, where are they going to leave it? They are going to leave it on the ground. This is a small point but it is worthwhile mentioning. This example covers perhaps litter rather than waste, but cans are a form of waste which can be crushed or flattened.

At times you have to ask yourself the question: what is waste? I have a pen with me that will eventually run out. What am I to do with the empty casing? Will it become waste? I understand-I may be wrong-that people from some Pacific island countries use empty pens to write on banana leaves and the like because of a shortage of paper. In such circumstances, empty pens could be recyclable. The difficulty, of course, is to find the wherewithal to be able to do so.

I don't believe that this country has advanced to the extent that we can export useable waste overseas. We are too busy concentrating on what we can do in this country and certainly in this territory. However, no doubt this will come.

We must always remember, of course, that one person's trash is another person's treasure. There are ample opportunities in this territory to dispose of such material. We have fetes in summer, spring and autumn-not so much in winter-and there is always a trash and treasure stall at most of these fetes. Items can always be taken to church or school fetes; they don't have to be taken out to the tip and dumped.

In the home, waste placed in the kitchen compost bin can be taken out and put into the main compost area; special shower roses and suchlike can be used to cut down on the amount of water that is used; newspapers and bottles can be placed in the appropriate recycling bin; and water tanks and watering systems are useful in conserving water. By growing your own vegetables and fruit you can avoid having to dispose of the packaging that purchased goods are placed in.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .