Page 3 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 15 February 2011
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On 8 December 2010 a draft ACT Sustainable Waste Strategy 2010-2025 was released for public comment. Managing hazardous waste is one of the many issues being considered in the new ACT waste strategy.
The ACT Government has set up collection facilities for residents to drop off fluorescent tubes and light bulbs at no charge at Mitchell and Mugga Lane Resource Management Centres, with the Government paying for these to be sent interstate for recycling.
While fluorescent globes and batteries comprise less than 0.25 per cent of domestic waste sent to landfill, ways to create additional places for residents to drop off batteries and fluorescents are currently under consideration by the Government. Consideration is being given to suitable containers for collection, markets for batteries, willingness of businesses to receive or collect batteries for recycling, risks for installing collection facilities in public places and whether additional drop-off facilities are the best use of limited resources available for recycling.
The ACT Government is supporting the national product stewardship initiatives that will provide further improvements to end-of-life management of fluorescent light globes. The FluoroCycle, a voluntary partnership between government and industry to increase recycling of lamps containing mercury by the commercial and public lighting sectors, is expected to be rolled out in 2011.
The Environment Protection and Heritage Council has also been investigating the issues associated with the end-of-life management of fluorescent tubes and other mercury-containing lamps. The initial focus of the scheme is on those sectors that account for the largest consumption of lamps containing mercury, namely the commercial and public lighting sectors. It is expected that the scope of the program will be broadened to include lamps from the domestic or household sector. This will address the issue of the disposal of the increasing volumes of end-of-life fluorescent lamps used in residences.
Thank you for raising this matter, I trust that this information is of assistance.
Leave of absence
Motion (by Mr Corbell) agreed to:
That leave of absence be granted to Ms Porter for this sitting week for medical reasons.
Public Accounts—Standing Committee
Report 14
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (10.03): I present the following report:
Public Accounts—Standing Committee—Report 14—Review of Auditor-General’s Report No 6 of 2009: Government Office Accommodation—Interim report—February 2011, -dated 10 February 2011, together with a copy of the extracts of the relevant minutes of proceedings.
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