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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To establish continuous improvement programs for the management of waste and litter.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the State Government in partnership with local government:

• continues reductions in the number of landfill sites;
   
• supports national initiatives under the Environment Protection and Heritage Council to investigate options following the expiry of the National Packaging Covenant in 2004, including the introduction of container deposit legislation;
   
• undertakes surveys on the quantities and rates of household hazardous waste generated in Tasmania and, based on this information, investigates opportunities for educational programs about the disposal of hazardous waste;
   
• implements the key recommendation of the Natural Heritage Trust funded report by Mineral Resources Tasmania on the effects of waste disposal on groundwater quality in Tasmania (Ezzy 2002), including: implementation of methods for site investigations for future landfill sites; monitoring of groundwater, surface water and gas vapour from sites; and rehabilitation/remediation of existing sites;
   
• assesses the risks posed to human health and the environment from redevelopment of contaminated, or potentially contaminated, land (see also 'Contaminated Sites'); and
   
• finalises key reports and strategies on waste management including the Draft Tasmanian Waste Management Strategy 2000 (DPIWE 2000) to address matters such as cost recovery programs to fund hazardous waste containment and remediation works and the establishment of an interim storage facility for hazardous waste.
   

Key issues

A number of improvements in waste management have occurred since the previous SoE report (SDAC 1997). There is a better understanding of environmental issues arising from solid waste management. These improvements are documented below in achievements. Nevertheless, waste management remains a significant environmental problem in Tasmania, which has implications for water and air quality, environmental health, and land use.

• Solid Waste:Currently there are 35 permitted landfill sites in Tasmania, compared to 99 sites in 1994. As in other Australian states, there are an unknown number of smaller, mostly rural disposal sites operating without approval. Many of the closed sites have undergone, or are undergoing, rehabilitation. Several of the larger landfills (e.g. those at Glenorchy, New Norfolk and Hobart) have been operating for several decades and, in keeping with the environmental protection standards of the time, were primarily designed and constructed using natural attenuation liners. Operators of these sites attempt to continually improve their site's environmental performance by ongoing surface and groundwater monitoring, operation management and improved infrastructure. However, the sites often have significant and severe limitations that are difficult to overcome. Surface and groundwater contamination is therefore a legacy of these sites and historical landfilling practices. These sites require post-closure monitoring to determine the scope and degree of any contamination and potential risk to groundwater aquifers and surface waters.
   
• Hazardous Waste: There is currently no reliable and accurate method for determining the total hazardous waste generation rate and disposal route in Tasmania, and there is no information available on the quantities or rates of household hazardous waste generated in Tasmania.
   
• A survey of the 283 industry operations that produced solid hazardous waste in 1999 found that the total rate of hazardous waste generated by the 99 respondents was 303,124 tonnes/year (Nolan ITU 1999). Of the total annual volume of hazardous waste generated by the 99 respondents, 81% was adequately disposed of and 19% had inadequate disposal. However, because the response was only 35% of the total number of industries that produced hazardous waste in Tasmania, these figures are not necessarily representative.
   
• National data indicate that the majority of household hazardous waste is being disposed of via normal garbage collection systems (ABS 2000). An increase in the use of this method also occurred: from 65% in 1996 to 85% in 2000. Without the separation of hazardous waste from the normal solid waste stream, for special treatment and disposal, hazardous waste enters landfills where it can impact on the ability of landfill operators to manage the waste and will potentially have significant environmental and human health impacts (e.g. groundwater toxicity).
   
• In 2000, only 39.4% of Tasmanian households knew of services or facilities that were available in their area for the safe disposal of household hazardous waste, a slight increase compared to 1996 (33.4%). This is slightly higher compared to the overall figures for national household awareness, which stood at 31% in 1996 and 37% in 2000 (ABS 2000).
   
• There is no dedicated hazardous waste disposal site in the State that can accept all types of hazardous waste. There are limited alternatives for the disposal of medical and quarantine hazardous wastes, other than landfill sites. There are 24 landfills across Tasmania that are licensed to receive some types of hazardous waste (e.g. animal wastes, waste oil, asbestos and a limited number of other waste types). There are 12 landfill sites across the State that receive medical waste and 11 that receive quarantine waste.
   
• The disposal practices for hazardous waste at some landfill sites in 1999 indicated they could lead to a significant risk of environmental degradation, such as increases in the toxicity of leachate waters (Nolan ITU 1999). Hazardous waste that cannot be received by landfills in Tasmania is currently transported to the mainland at considerable cost, and with risk of accidental spills or leakages.
   
• It is not known what percentage of the privately operated, industry specific, landfills dispose of hazardous wastes into their landfills.
   
• There is a lack of education within industries, at landfills and among the general community for the proper identification, classification, treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes, as well as methods for potential recycling.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Progress has occurred in key aspects of solid waste and controlled (hazardous) waste management. Key initiatives include the following.

• There has been a reduction in the number of licensed landfill sites from 99 in 1994 to 35 in July 2003.
   
• There has been a significant increase in the proportion of Tasmanian households that recycle. Due in part to the advent of kerbside recycling in Launceston, the recycling rate for post-consumer newspapers jumped from 51.6% in 2001 to 72.4% in 2002.
   
• Information and understanding has improved since the previous SoE Report. DPIWE commissioned a study into disposal of solid waste at municipal landfill sites around Tasmania (Nolan ITU 1999). A report has also been completed on contamination of groundwater from landfill sites (Ezzy 2002).
   
• In March 2000, DPIWE released a public discussion paper entitled 'Towards a Tasmanian Waste Management Strategy'. The Government adopted a reduction target of 50% of waste by volume to landfill by 2005, based on 1990 levels. The strategy aims to provide an integrated approach to waste management through tools such as economic incentives, stakeholder participation, education and appropriate landfill sites (DPIWE 2000). Once developed, this strategy will replace and build upon the existing Tasmanian Hazardous Waste Management Strategy and the Solid Waste Management Policy. It will provide a framework for waste management reforms.
   
• The Landfill Code of Practice (1996) is being replaced with an updated document that will reflect current world best practice and will provide operators with a framework for operation and rehabilitation. This document will be released in January 2004 with all operators of landfills expected to comply with the Code within a reasonable time frame.
   
• 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. Among the key issues, is that lack of accurate data on controlled waste generation and disposal within Tasmania, which is a significant barrier to the development, monitoring and management of any modern waste management strategy. 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.
   
• In line with the Tasmania Together goals, alternate methods of waste disposal are being examined which may see a reduced reliance on landfilling as emerging waste management technologies become available.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Settlements' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

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