Page 6066 - Week 14 - Thursday, 8 December 2011
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(1) There has been significant revision and re-revision of reported waste statistics for 4 years in a row, as seen in Budget Estimates Hansard, 24/05/11 p 858-9; TAMS Annual Report Hearings 2009-10 Hansard, p 54-55; 86-87; 2011-12 Budget Estimates Paper 4, p 73, for example, reported ‘percentage of material recovered from the total waste stream’ figures were revised in 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008. What processes has the Government put in place to prevent this level of inaccuracy from continuing to occur in the future.
(2) Could the Government provide complete tables of the revised and corrected waste statistics as categorised in the Budget Estimates and Annual Reports for the years 2008 through to the present.
(3) Where do the ACT’s current waste generation and recovery statistics presently stand relative to other states and territories in Australia.
Mr Corbell: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) There is only one change to reported waste statistics in the references provided above.
In the TAMS Annual Report Hearings 2009-10 (Hansard pp 54-55 and 86-87), Mr Byles corrected the record in relation to waste data reported in the 2008-09 TAMS Annual Report. Mr Byles noted that resource recovery in 2008-09 was actually 584,000 tonnes, but had been reported as 640,000 tonnes. The error had occurred because of incorrect recycling data provided by private industry due to a calculating error by private industry. The error was detected following checks and cross-comparisons with the next year’s data run by TAMS and was then corrected by private industry.
The incorrect data lead to provision of targets that were later revised. Budget Estimates on 24 May 2011 (p 858-9 Hansard) provided further information about this.
The 2011-12 Budget Paper 4, p 73, sets out 2010-11 Targets, 2010-11 Estimated Outcomes and 2011-12 Targets for various aspects of waste and recycling.
‘Targets’ are set in consultation with the business unit prior to the commencement of the year. ‘Estimated outcomes’ are estimated outcomes of performance based on data collected to date. Neither is a reported statistic, they are goals and estimates.
Actual performance as reported can differ from goals and estimates. This is particularly so for waste and recycling for several reasons. For instance, the ACT Government does not control overall waste generation rates. Major influences such as drought (which decreases garden waste) and increased building activity (which increases construction and demolition waste) are difficult to predict. In addition, around 90% of all recycling is done by the private sector and data is collected once each year via an industry survey. Until the year’s recycling data is collected from the private sector, it is very difficult to predict what actual performance is likely to be.
Landfill data is collected via weighbridge data, which is controlled by TAMS. This data is continually checked and forms the basis of Estimated Outcomes.
As noted above, recycling data is collected via survey once each year. TAMS runs checks against the data received from private industry to ensure it is consistent with past performance and industry trends, which is how the
2008-09 private industry error was detected.
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