❓ The Minister for Environment provides an update on the Liberal-National government's program to reduce construction and demolition materials going to landfill, highlighting funding allocation and progress.
AnsweredQoN 762Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LANDFILL — CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION
MATERIAL
762. Mr P. ABETZ to the Minister for
Environment:
Can the minister update the house on
how the Liberal–National government's program to reduce
construction and demolition materials going to landfill is progressing?
MATERIAL
762. Mr P. ABETZ to the Minister for
Environment:
Can the minister update the house on
how the Liberal–National government's program to reduce
construction and demolition materials going to landfill is progressing?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Southern
River for the question. Construction and demolition waste represents about half
the solid waste currently generated in Western Australia, particularly within
the Perth–Peel region. It also represents around half the waste sent to
landfill currently within the Perth–Peel region. Western Australia's
re‑use or recycling of construction and demolition waste material lags
significantly behind that of other comparable states. This comes at a large
cost to the environment. There is lost opportunity cost not only in waste that
is simply being landfilled, much of which could be recycled to better outcomes,
with the stress that that places on the life of existing landfills, but also
from using material that could otherwise be recycled as it puts more pressure
on quarries and access to basic raw materials, requiring a greater
environmental footprint because more and quicker native vegetation clearing is
required.
To address this issue, I launched
the recycled construction products program earlier this year. This program will
provide $10 million over the next five years to incentivise the use of recycled
construction and demolition waste materials. Under this program, $8 million has
been pre-allocated to metropolitan local governments on a per capita basis, as
a financial incentive on a per-tonne basis, to those local councils to use
recycled construction and demolition waste material on their road-base
projects, for clean fill and for other suitable recycling purposes. It also
makes $2 million available over the next five years through an open and
competitive process to private sector entities, state government entities and
metropolitan local governments should any local government use in excess of its
existing allocation—this is designed to incentivise all those bodies to
use recycled construction and demolition products.
There is a requirement for extensive
product sampling and testing of this type of material. Specifications are in
place to ensure that the use of these products does not result in unacceptable
impacts on public health, amenity and the environment. That is as it should be,
and we are not compromising on the need to make sure that a high specification
applies to these materials, and a sampling regime that goes with that. But in
the spirit of red tape reduction, following on from the earlier answer from the
Minister for Finance, the Waste Authority is also developing a sampling and
testing support scheme to assist industry with the cost of testing these
products to ensure that recycled material is eligible for funding under this
program. There is no compromising on the regulatory standard to meet
environmental health standards, but we recognise that we need to encourage
markets in this area. Therefore, we are exploring ways in which we can help
subsidise some of the extra specifications required for that material.
I
am very pleased to report to the house that there has already been significant
interest in this program, with almost one-quarter of the competitive funding
allocation already being subject to submissions. Just over six months in,
around one-quarter of the five-year funding is already subject to expressions
of interest to access that funding.
The
SPEAKER : That concludes question time.
Mr
D.A. Templeman interjected.
The SPEAKER : I am sorry, member for Mandurah; I feel really
guilty, but what can you do?
River for the question. Construction and demolition waste represents about half
the solid waste currently generated in Western Australia, particularly within
the Perth–Peel region. It also represents around half the waste sent to
landfill currently within the Perth–Peel region. Western Australia's
re‑use or recycling of construction and demolition waste material lags
significantly behind that of other comparable states. This comes at a large
cost to the environment. There is lost opportunity cost not only in waste that
is simply being landfilled, much of which could be recycled to better outcomes,
with the stress that that places on the life of existing landfills, but also
from using material that could otherwise be recycled as it puts more pressure
on quarries and access to basic raw materials, requiring a greater
environmental footprint because more and quicker native vegetation clearing is
required.
To address this issue, I launched
the recycled construction products program earlier this year. This program will
provide $10 million over the next five years to incentivise the use of recycled
construction and demolition waste materials. Under this program, $8 million has
been pre-allocated to metropolitan local governments on a per capita basis, as
a financial incentive on a per-tonne basis, to those local councils to use
recycled construction and demolition waste material on their road-base
projects, for clean fill and for other suitable recycling purposes. It also
makes $2 million available over the next five years through an open and
competitive process to private sector entities, state government entities and
metropolitan local governments should any local government use in excess of its
existing allocation—this is designed to incentivise all those bodies to
use recycled construction and demolition products.
There is a requirement for extensive
product sampling and testing of this type of material. Specifications are in
place to ensure that the use of these products does not result in unacceptable
impacts on public health, amenity and the environment. That is as it should be,
and we are not compromising on the need to make sure that a high specification
applies to these materials, and a sampling regime that goes with that. But in
the spirit of red tape reduction, following on from the earlier answer from the
Minister for Finance, the Waste Authority is also developing a sampling and
testing support scheme to assist industry with the cost of testing these
products to ensure that recycled material is eligible for funding under this
program. There is no compromising on the regulatory standard to meet
environmental health standards, but we recognise that we need to encourage
markets in this area. Therefore, we are exploring ways in which we can help
subsidise some of the extra specifications required for that material.
I
am very pleased to report to the house that there has already been significant
interest in this program, with almost one-quarter of the competitive funding
allocation already being subject to submissions. Just over six months in,
around one-quarter of the five-year funding is already subject to expressions
of interest to access that funding.
The
SPEAKER : That concludes question time.
Mr
D.A. Templeman interjected.
The SPEAKER : I am sorry, member for Mandurah; I feel really
guilty, but what can you do?
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