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- Efforts to address environmental pollutants with implications for human health include: removal of lead petrol; reduction in workplace exposure to hazardous chemicals and wastes; and banning of smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces. A decline in melanoma rates may reflect increasingly proactive measures to minimise exposure to direct sunlight.
- The reduction of vehicle speed limits in residential streets to 50km/h may have contributed in reducing noise in residential areas in Tasmania. However, there is little monitoring and noise mapping.
- The 'Draft Environment Protection Policy' (Noise) sets noise emission standards for industry, transport and neighbourhoods, and standards for noise sensitive developments such as residences, schools and hospitals; this policy is subject to review by the Environment Protection Policy Review Panel.
- Numerous innovations have been undertaken by Metro Tasmania to offer alternative bus services and to cater to wheelchair passengers.
- In March 1999 the Australian Government and the building industry agreed on a national strategy to improve energy efficiency in Australian buildings, and some Tasmanian councils have adopted the requirements of improved building design by providing a rebate for achieving a certain energy efficiency rating.
- The completion of Stage 1 of the Woolnorth wind farm and a new wind farm development at King Island are important initiatives in renewable energy development. The provision of reticulated gas in Tasmania will provide enhanced energy options.
- The Litter Act 1973 is now under review. Information availability has improved since the 1997 SoE Report, with studies of disposal of solid waste at landfill sites, and contamination of groundwater from landfill sites.
- A public discussion paper entitled Toward a Tasmanian Waste Management Strategy was released in 2000; when this strategy is finalised, it will replace the Tasmanian Hazardous Waste Management Strategy and the Solid Waste Management Policy. In 2000 a partnership agreement was set up between the Tasmanian Government and the Local Government Association of Tasmania to establish three regional waste management bodies in the State, although the southern one is the only one that has been established to date.
- Initiatives in managing hazardous waste include a collection scheme for organochlorine pesticide waste between 2000-02, a collection scheme for non-returnable containers from crop protection or animal health chemicals; a Trade Waste Exchange Program; and draft Guidelines for Management and Disposal of Medical Wastes in Tasmania (1998).
- A controlled waste management project is currently under development to address several of the identified deficiencies in the State's management regime for these wastes. To facilitate improved data collection, a uniform waste classification and data collection system is currently under development. This project will provide the quantitative tools by which the effectiveness of waste minimisation and improved waste management programs can be assessed. This will assist Tasmania in meeting its national and international waste management reporting obligations.
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