Published Thursday, 10 July, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation
The Honourable Andrew McNamara
New Strategy to Modernise Waste Management in Queensland
Queensland is expected to have a new waste management strategy by the end of the year which recognises waste as a resource rather than as a problem.
Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, Andrew McNamara said the impacts of climate change and our burgeoning population mean sustainability is the crucial issue facing Queensland today.
Mr McNamara told a Local Government Environment Conference in Cairns today that having a modern and best practice waste management framework was a key part of achieving a sustainable society.
“The way in which we consume products and materials will affect whether we have a sustainable society that leaves resources available for future generations to use,” Mr McNamara said.
“To secure long-term sustainability, we need to shift our thinking towards treating waste as a resource rather than as a problem.
“For most people, waste management often involves little more than putting their wheelie bins out to be collected; what happens to the waste after that is someone else’s problem.
“In some cases, they may not even know how much this is actually costing them.
“In simple terms, we have never learned the value of waste because little value has ever been placed on it.”
Mr McNamara said Queensland currently lags behind other states in terms of recycling and resource recovery.
In 2007, Queenslanders generated 8.9 million tonnes of waste, and approximately 60% of this waste went to landfill. In NSW 51% of waste goes to landfill, and in Victoria it is 45%.
“We must do better, and we will do better,” Mr McNamara said.
“The challenge for a sustainable future is to find ways to break the links between economic growth, consumption and waste generation.
“We must find ways to use our resources more efficiently, and reduce the impact on our environment from the very growth that is the mark of our success as a society.
“We need to think about what we want the future to look like and what we have to do to get there, because the ‘business as usual’ model is neither sustainable nor innovative.
“It is a fact that, even though we continue to recycle more, the rate of total waste generation and disposal is increasing.
“If the current unsustainable trends continue, in 12 years total waste generation could be more than 28 million tonnes annually.
“Even if per capita waste generation froze at current levels of nearly 2 tonnes per person, we would still generate more than 10 million tonnes of waste a year by 2020 simply because of Queensland’s population growth.”
Mr McNamara said 90 submissions were received in response to a Queensland Waste Strategy discussion paper released late last year for public and stakeholder comment.
Issues covered in the discussion paper included:
• setting targets for achieving landfill diversion of particular waste streams, such as construction and demolition wastes or to achieve stated recycling rates;
• special treatment of priority wastes and end-of-life products which have ongoing recyclable/re-use value;
• landfill bans to prevent the disposal of specified wastes to landfill; and
• the development of a new performance-based system to provide financial incentive to reward landfill facilities which implement sustainable waste treatment practices.
“The discussion paper is part of our overall push to ensure Queensland isn’t just the Smart State, but it’s also the Sustainable State,” Mr McNamara said.
“Feedback from stakeholders has shown a range of views in some areas, but also a shared willingness and commitment to look beyond ‘business as usual’ and tackle the barriers to improving waste management and resource efficiency in Queensland.
“The strategy needs to get the right balance of measures such as pricing signals, regulation, market development, research, education and infrastructure.
“The new waste strategy will update and modernise Queensland’s waste management framework as part of securing a sustainable future for the state.”
Media contact: Peter McCarthy 3336 8004
Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, Andrew McNamara said the impacts of climate change and our burgeoning population mean sustainability is the crucial issue facing Queensland today.
Mr McNamara told a Local Government Environment Conference in Cairns today that having a modern and best practice waste management framework was a key part of achieving a sustainable society.
“The way in which we consume products and materials will affect whether we have a sustainable society that leaves resources available for future generations to use,” Mr McNamara said.
“To secure long-term sustainability, we need to shift our thinking towards treating waste as a resource rather than as a problem.
“For most people, waste management often involves little more than putting their wheelie bins out to be collected; what happens to the waste after that is someone else’s problem.
“In some cases, they may not even know how much this is actually costing them.
“In simple terms, we have never learned the value of waste because little value has ever been placed on it.”
Mr McNamara said Queensland currently lags behind other states in terms of recycling and resource recovery.
In 2007, Queenslanders generated 8.9 million tonnes of waste, and approximately 60% of this waste went to landfill. In NSW 51% of waste goes to landfill, and in Victoria it is 45%.
“We must do better, and we will do better,” Mr McNamara said.
“The challenge for a sustainable future is to find ways to break the links between economic growth, consumption and waste generation.
“We must find ways to use our resources more efficiently, and reduce the impact on our environment from the very growth that is the mark of our success as a society.
“We need to think about what we want the future to look like and what we have to do to get there, because the ‘business as usual’ model is neither sustainable nor innovative.
“It is a fact that, even though we continue to recycle more, the rate of total waste generation and disposal is increasing.
“If the current unsustainable trends continue, in 12 years total waste generation could be more than 28 million tonnes annually.
“Even if per capita waste generation froze at current levels of nearly 2 tonnes per person, we would still generate more than 10 million tonnes of waste a year by 2020 simply because of Queensland’s population growth.”
Mr McNamara said 90 submissions were received in response to a Queensland Waste Strategy discussion paper released late last year for public and stakeholder comment.
Issues covered in the discussion paper included:
• setting targets for achieving landfill diversion of particular waste streams, such as construction and demolition wastes or to achieve stated recycling rates;
• special treatment of priority wastes and end-of-life products which have ongoing recyclable/re-use value;
• landfill bans to prevent the disposal of specified wastes to landfill; and
• the development of a new performance-based system to provide financial incentive to reward landfill facilities which implement sustainable waste treatment practices.
“The discussion paper is part of our overall push to ensure Queensland isn’t just the Smart State, but it’s also the Sustainable State,” Mr McNamara said.
“Feedback from stakeholders has shown a range of views in some areas, but also a shared willingness and commitment to look beyond ‘business as usual’ and tackle the barriers to improving waste management and resource efficiency in Queensland.
“The strategy needs to get the right balance of measures such as pricing signals, regulation, market development, research, education and infrastructure.
“The new waste strategy will update and modernise Queensland’s waste management framework as part of securing a sustainable future for the state.”
Media contact: Peter McCarthy 3336 8004