❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks information on waste management in the metropolitan area, including measurement methods, definitions, and quantities. The answer provides data and refers to relevant legislation.
AnsweredQoN 5695Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Who measures the amount of waste generated in the metropolitan area in order to calculate the amount being diverted from landfill?
(2) What constitutes waste in the metropolitan area?
(3) Who decides what constitutes waste and what constitutes recycling in the metropolitan area?
(4) What criteria are used for deciding what constitutes recycling?
(5) How much waste was generated in the metropolitan area last year?
(6) What is the breakdown of this waste between household, industrial, construction and demolition and hazardous waste?
(2) What constitutes waste in the metropolitan area?
(3) Who decides what constitutes waste and what constitutes recycling in the metropolitan area?
(4) What criteria are used for deciding what constitutes recycling?
(5) How much waste was generated in the metropolitan area last year?
(6) What is the breakdown of this waste between household, industrial, construction and demolition and hazardous waste?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
9 August 2011
Responded by
Minister for Environment
Response time
56 days
(1) The Department of Environment and Conservation keeps records of the amount of waste generated in the metropolitan area. For the purposes of its records, the department defines the amount of waste generated as the amount of waste disposed of to landfill plus the amount of waste recycled. The amount of waste disposed of to landfill is calculated on the basis of the information required to be reported to the department by landfill operators under the
Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Levy Regulations 2008
. The amount of waste recycled is calculated on the basis of information obtained from an annual survey of recyclers, which is commissioned by the department.
(2)-(4) The term "waste" is defined in the
Environmental Protection Act 1986
and the
Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007
to include matter (a) whether liquid, solid, gaseous or radioactive and whether useful or useless, which is discharged into the environment; or (b) prescribed to be waste. These definitions are not limited to the metropolitan area. For the purposes of the annual survey of recyclers carried out by the department, "recycled material" is defined as "Material recovered that would otherwise have been disposed of to landfill and that has undergone some form of physical reprocessing to create a saleable product or raw material".
(5) It is estimated that about 5.8 million tonnes of waste was generated in the metropolitan area in 2009/10.
(6) The estimated breakdown of this waste is: municipal (household) waste - 1.3 million tonnes; commercial and industrial waste - 1.3 million tonnes; and construction and demolition waste - 3.2 million tonnes. Figures for hazardous waste generated in the metropolitan area are not available.
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Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Levy Regulations 2008
. The amount of waste recycled is calculated on the basis of information obtained from an annual survey of recyclers, which is commissioned by the department.
(2)-(4) The term "waste" is defined in the
Environmental Protection Act 1986
and the
Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007
to include matter (a) whether liquid, solid, gaseous or radioactive and whether useful or useless, which is discharged into the environment; or (b) prescribed to be waste. These definitions are not limited to the metropolitan area. For the purposes of the annual survey of recyclers carried out by the department, "recycled material" is defined as "Material recovered that would otherwise have been disposed of to landfill and that has undergone some form of physical reprocessing to create a saleable product or raw material".
(5) It is estimated that about 5.8 million tonnes of waste was generated in the metropolitan area in 2009/10.
(6) The estimated breakdown of this waste is: municipal (household) waste - 1.3 million tonnes; commercial and industrial waste - 1.3 million tonnes; and construction and demolition waste - 3.2 million tonnes. Figures for hazardous waste generated in the metropolitan area are not available.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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