Issues

• Population and Settlement Patterns
• Environmental Health
• Acoustic Environment
• Urban Design
• Drinking Water Quality
• Social and Economic Conditions
• Education

• Transport
• Energy Sources and Use

• Solid Waste
• Hazardous Waste
• Contaminated Sites

At a glance

The issue

The volume of waste a society generates is a measure of resource use and an indication of the by-products of consumption. Progress towards a more sustainable society (in terms of material consumption and energy use) would be demonstrated through reductions in the volume of solid waste, which is generated and disposed.

In addition to being a measure of progress towards sustainable resource use in society, solid waste disposal is a significant environmental problem in itself. It has implications for water and air quality, environmental health, and land use. Environmental issues arise in a number of circumstances: when disposal is not planned for during the production of goods; when hazardous waste is not separated from non-hazardous waste; when the design and engineering of landfill sites fails to deal adequately with site-specific constraints; and when illegal dumping of waste occurs.

This 'At a Glance' section provides an overview of the issue of solid waste generation and disposal. More information is available in the Solid Waste Issue Report. The Issue Report includes the Solid Waste Generation and Disposal Indicator.

A recommendation is provided on Waste Management.

Favourable news

• There has been a reduction in the number of licensed landfill sites from 99 in 1994 to 43 in 1999 (Nolan ITU 2001b). As at July 2003, there are 35 landfill sites in Tasmania. Continued reduction is necessary to limit the potential for environmental harm where it can be better managed, to improve the economics of landfill operations, and to close sites that are less suited as landfill sites for solid waste.
   
• Many of the closed sites have undergone-or are undergoing-rehabilitation. 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.
   
• In March 2000, DPIWE released a public discussion paper entitled 'Towards a Tasmanian Waste Management Strategy'. In this strategy, the Government adopted a reduction target of 50% of waste by volume to landfill by 2005 based on 1990 levels. The Waste Management 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).
   
• The community is increasingly aware that waste is a resource that can be reused for a variety of purposes. There is a high level of community involvement and participation in recycling, as evidenced by a significant increase in the proportion of Tasmanian households that recycle. Kerbside recycling has strong community support in Tasmania and has resulted in a reduction in materials entering landfill. Figures for participation rates for kerbside recycling are as high as 95%, which is arguably the best in Australia (domestic garbage makes up 35.4% of waste to landfill, and glass makes up 6.9% of domestic garbage, plastic makes up 7.7% and paper makes up 23.9%). Due in part to the adoption of kerbside recycling in Launceston, the recycling rate for post-consumer newspaper jumped from 51.6% in 2001 to 72.4% in 2002. The national recycling rate average is 72.8% for newspaper.
   
• The Litter Act 1973 is now under review and should be updated by the time of the next SoE report (five years from now). Council consultation has been undertaken and public consultation will begin in 2003.
   
• Information availability has improved in two main areas since the previous SoE Report (SDAC 1997). Firstly, DPIWE commissioned a study into the disposal of solid waste at municipal landfill sites around Tasmania (Nolan ITU 1999). Secondly, a report has been completed on the contamination of groundwater from landfill sites in Tasmania (Ezzy 2002).
   
• The recommendations of the report on the contamination of groundwater from landfill sites provide the basis to improve the management of landfill sites, thereby reducing environmental contamination.
   
• With the advent of more tourists and a greater social expectation of a litter free environment, there is arguably more concern about litter. Litter prevention requires infrastructure provision and servicing, more active enforcement of appropriate and modern laws, and public education.
   
• 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.
   

Unfavourable news

• The five largest landfill facilities in Tasmania are Glenorchy, Hobart, Dulverton, Port Latta and Launceston. A report commissioned by DPIWE identified a number of environmental management issues at these sites, with the most significant problems occurring at older sites in Launceston, Hobart and Glenorchy. Issues identified include: ineffective stormwater management in heavy rain events; insufficient number of monitoring bores in use; windblown litter; potential or actual discharge to the environment of leachate; and intermittent direct discharge into the environment, or the potential for discharge to environment (Nolan ITU 1999).
   
• Several of the larger landfills 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.
   
• A study of the effects of waste disposal on groundwater quality identified groundwater contamination at six of the ten sites which were investigated. If this percentage is extrapolated to the 176 sites identified, potentially up to 100 waste disposal sites may have contaminated groundwater (Ezzy 2002).
   
• Tasmania's relatively dispersed population and lower population densities are factors contributing to the relatively low environmental benefit from recycling in Tasmania (Nolan ITU 1999).
   
• There is no commercial exploitation of landfill gas in Tasmania, although proposals are being considered by Hobart City Council and several trials have been conducted. While attempts at the commercial sale of landfill gas have occurred elsewhere in Australia, obstacles such as resistance to the sale of energy into the power grid and the inability to guarantee supply have hindered its commercial utilisation.
   

Uncertain news

• As in other Australian states, there are an unknown number of smaller, mostly rural disposal sites operating without approval (although there has been a known reduction in the number of licenced sites). The full extent of environmental contamination from both open and closed sites is also unknown.
   
• There is little monitoring of groundwater quality in Tasmania, although licence conditions for the newer landfill sites such as the Dulverton Regional Landfill Site specify sampling of leachate quality, and surface water and groundwater monitoring. Surveys of groundwater contamination from landfill sites were preliminary, with follow-up work required to identify priority responses (Ezzy 2002).
   
• There is some uncertainty as to the benefits of kerbside recycling in Tasmania. In general, the financial costs increase and the environmental benefits of kerbside recycling decrease as population density diminishes and distance to markets increases (Nolan ITU 2001). There may be alternatives to kerbside recycling such as container deposit legislation that are more cost-effective for regional economies like Tasmania.
   
• An approval was granted for a waste incinerator in this State in 2001, although, as at July 2003, no works had commenced on the project. There is some community concern about the environmental impacts of incineration and whether resources could be optimised by using other forms of waste management.
   

• Issue Report - continued in depth