Canberra ratepayers would get a third bin for garden waste under a plan announced by the Canberra Liberals today.
Canberra Liberals leader Zed Seselja said if his party won power at the October 20 election, thousands of bins would be provided free to Canberra ratepayers, at a cost to the territory of about $5.5 million a year.
Mr Seselja said the Liberals would also provide a capital grant of $10 million for the construction of a garden waste processing facility. The facility would process the garden waste which would then be sold as mulch, offsetting the cost of collection.
He said a public-private-partnership model would be employed to provide best value for money.
Mr Seselja said the Canberra Liberals were committed to reducing the amount of garden waste going to landfill and providing better services in the capital.
”Effective waste management and reduction is not only important in protecting our environment, it’s also a vital component of a well-managed city,” Mr Seselja said. ”That’s why a Canberra Liberals government would give Canberra households a green bin for garden waste, as is provided in Queanbeyan, Sydney, and Wollongong.”
Under the current system, Canberrans can drop off green waste free of charge to the Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre or the Parkwood Road Recycling Estate. Residents unable to transport waste either pay contractors for disposal or send it to landfill via rubbish bins.
Mr Seselja said the third bin initiative would save some Canberra home owners up to $400 a year in green waste collection services.
Opposition nature conservation spokeswoman Minister Vicki Dunne said the Canberra Liberals would test the market to identify a suitable public-private-partnership model to deliver the initiative.
Ms Dunne said about 64 NSW councils provide garden waste collection.
”A Canberra Liberals government would talk to our regional counterparts about the best ways to collaboratively collect and process other organic waste,” Ms Dunne said.
The issue has been a hot topic of debate in the ACT Assembly this year, with the ACT Greens and Labor government squaring off over the issue.
The Greens support the third bin option, but the government says the system would be wasteful and expensive for the city’s apartment dwellers.
Labor bases its stance on a report, by consultants Hyder, which examined waste disposal and recycling in multi-unit developments in Canberra, across Australia and internationally.
Labor wants to retain the current two-bin system and build an $8 million materials recycling facility to sort organic material from rubbish.
The government argues that the third bin option would cost $20 million and recover less waste than the MRF.
It’s not the first-time the Canberra Liberals have championed the evolution of ACT waste management, with the party in 1992 spruiking the introduction of wheelie bins.
