Page 335 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 2019
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(13) What processes were involved when deciding the usage of these materials.
(14) How much of the ACT’s waste is recycled in Australia.
(15) Is any of the ACT’s waste going to recycling markets in China; if so, (a) how much and (b) what is the waste being recycled into.
Mr Steel: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) The management of the soft plastics taken to private entities such as supermarkets is managed under commercial arrangements. TCCS are unable to provide the details of their arrangements.
(2) TCCS are not currently aware of any local businesses reprocessing soft plastics as inputs for product manufacturing in the ACT.
(3) Glass collected through household recycling bins and received at the Hume materials recovery facility (MRF) is being converted to sand products for use in road and construction projects, and not going to bottle-to-bottle markets. Some of the glass recovered through the ACT container deposit scheme (CDS) is currently being used in bottle-to-bottle markets, however there is limited national demand from these markets at this point in time. The ACT government is working with industry to identify alternative uses for recycled glass from kerbside collection and the CDS.
(4) Yes. Glass sand product has already been used in the ACT for applications such as road base, including through various technical tests and trials over the last couple of years.
(5) Yes, glass recovered through the ACT CDS is currently being used in bottle-to-bottle markets, however there is limited national demand from these markets, and alternative uses must be developed for recycled glass collected as part of the kerbside collection process.
(6) All glass collected in household recycling bins and processed by the Hume MRF is currently being converted to sand products. Container deposit schemes in NSW as well as the ACT will continue to supply the limited demand for bottle-to-bottle glass in Sydney, making it even more important to develop sustainable local markets for glass sand from kerbside services.
(7) TCCS do not currently have the detailed breakdown of reuse of the glass fines. TCCS can confirm that the use of glass fines is not limited to road base applications in the ACT, for example the contractor is also currently supplying glass fines to asphalt markets and to a lesser extent into construction products such as non-structural concrete.
(8) The management of the recycled toner cartridges taken to the public drop of locations is managed under commercial arrangements. TCCS are unable to provide the details of these arrangements.
(9) Rigid plastic containers are being sold to re-processors, who convert the existing containers into flakes and pellets that can be used to manufacture a range of new products. PET (soft drink bottles) and HDPE (milk bottles) generally go to Australian
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