Page 1621 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 May 2017
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(i) at the end of April, 6800 households, representing 44 percent of Weston Creek and Kambah, have signed up for the service;
(ii) collection and disposal services have commenced and are being delivered as promised; and
(iii) residents are embracing and gaining benefit from the new service; and
(2) calls on the ACT Government to continue:
(a) the roll out of the green bins pilot program throughout the ACT following an evaluation and the outcomes of the Weston Creek and Kambah pilot; and
(b) to work towards the zero waste target in the ACT including looking at household disposal of food waste.
Our government is taking responsible steps to manage our environment and climate change. This includes our responsible approach to waste management. Our approach is set out in “ACT waste management strategy: towards a sustainable Canberra—reducing waste and recovering resources to achieve a sustainable and carbon-neutral Canberra 2011-2025”. Under this strategy the government is committed to our goal of zero recoverable waste sent to landfill. It is an ambitious target and we are putting in place the necessary policies to reduce waste and make Canberra an even better place to live.
Garden waste is one of the largest sources of waste in the ACT, derived from households and the commercial management of gardens and landscapes. It includes prunings, leaves and grass clippings from household gardens and parks. One of the strategies we have put in place is to recover this organic waste and residual waste resources. We are encouraging people to compost garden waste by removing disincentives to recycle garden waste by providing free drop-off at the tip. This has meant that over 90 per cent of the ACT’s total garden waste is now recovered, processed and sold as high-value potting mixes and garden mulch. To improve this waste recovery, the government also announced the green bins pilot program for households around this time last year.
Today I am pleased to move this motion and speak about the progress and future of this environmental initiative for Canberra. In mid-March this year, the first of the green waste bins were rolled out to residents in my electorate of Murrumbidgee, to those in Weston Creek and Kambah, who registered to receive a bin. I was very pleased to see that Murrumbidgee residents were given this privilege as it demonstrates the commitment of our government to delivering better services for people on the south side, but also with a view to rolling out the bins to driveways across Canberra following the evaluation and outcomes of the pilot program.
Canberrans have a great love of gardening, and the suburbs of Weston Creek and Kambah were chosen both because they have well-established gardens and because they are typical of many suburbs in Canberra. It has been incredible to see the enthusiastic take-up of the green bins service in Canberra. On 15 March I joined
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