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Canberra Today 27°/30° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Election: Labor commits to city-wide food waste collection

IF re-elected, ACT Labor promises to invest in a city-wide food waste collection service in the ACT, at an annual cost of $5 million. 

Labor leader and Chief Minister Andrew Barr says it will create hundreds of new jobs in the territory and will help reduce emissions without putting financial pressures onto Canberra households.

“More than a third of ACT residential garbage bin contents are food waste (37 per cent) which currently goes to landfill and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions,” says Mr Barr.

“By managing food waste through a new system, a re-elected ACT Labor government will reduce the ACT’s emissions from the waste sector by approximately 30 per cent.

“Under the proposed scheme, Canberrans will be able to place food waste in their existing green bins along with other garden waste.”

If re-elected ACT Labor says it will pilot the collection service in 2021 before a full city-wide scheme is put in place. This will include a mix of households including apartments and townhouses.

By the end of 2023, ACT Labor says it will expand to a universal green bin scheme for Canberra.

At what cost though? ACT Labor says it’ll cost about $12 million, over a staged roll out from 2021 to 2023, to get it up and running. The $12 million includes the final net operating cost.

“Kitchen caddies and compostable liners will be provided to all homes. Apartment complexes will also be part of the scheme and we will work with body corporates on the best way to include them through the pilot,” Mr Barr says.

“We will also fund the construction of a new large scale in-vessel processing facility to turn Canberra’s food and garden waste into valuable compost.”

Labor commits to an old commitment on food waste

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