Page 5023 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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do the best we can but certainly all new stock is energy efficient. We look at water consumption and energy consumption throughout all our new properties, particularly the 420 we brought on through the economic stimulus package.
What we have also in place is $4 million each and every year to go through and do some energy upgrades across our properties. We will target those older properties, those properties that certainly would benefit from any modification. With 12,000 properties, I think there are about 3,000 properties we have covered under that rolling program of energy efficiency upgrades. That still leaves 9,000 properties left to have any attention to this level of work. It will be a long program, if we maintain and increase our stock at around 12,000, to get all properties up to that rating.
Waste—large items
MS PORTER: My question is to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services. Minister, what has the ACT government done to provide a service for the disposal of ACT householders’ bulky waste, such as household furniture, timber, metal items and other items not able to be disposed of in a regular bin?
MR CORBELL: I thank Ms Porter for her question and for her interest in these improved services for the community. As members would know, the disposal of large items of the types referred to by Ms Porter can be a problem for many people in our community. That is why the Labor government has implemented its commitment to provide a bulky waste household collection service as a trial.
The trial commenced on 27 April this year and is running for a 12-month period. The trial is being managed by Territory and Municipal Services and is being delivered through Tiny’s Green Shed. Many members would be familiar with Tiny’s Green Shed, the recycling facilities at Mugga and just about to commence also at Mitchell. Eligible households will be entitled to one free collection, with others able to access bulky waste collections for a fee. Collection fees range from $33 to $127, depending on the material type and the amount. Additional recycling fees apply for some items, such as televisions, computers and mattresses, as there are higher costs associated with handling and recycling these items.
The collection is for two cubic metres per household, which is about the size of your average box trailer. The type of bulky items that can be collected through the bulky waste collection include household furniture and appliances, garden tools and equipment, timber up to two metres in length, whitegoods, kitchen sinks and bathtubs, building materials and other products, metal products, scrap metal, electrical equipment, blankets, linen, manchester, automotive parts, camping and outdoor equipment, tools, toys and play equipment. Members will note that these are often items that are difficult for some people in our community to dispose of properly, especially if people do not have a car or access to a trailer. There are a number of other items which are not able to be collected as part of the trial as they pose a danger or require special handling or disposal.
I am very pleased to say that the trial is being monitored and information is being gathered as it progresses, so that we have a solid basis on which to assess whether this
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