Sustainability Report 2005-2006
Department of the Environment and Water Resources, 2007
Parks Australia Environmental Performance
Waste
EN11: Total amount of waste by type and destination
Goals 2005-06
Continue to review opportunities for reusing and recycling materials where practicable- Continue to provide collection bins for recyclable materials where practicable
Performance 2005-06 and trends
Across the various parks, opportunities to collect, reuse and recycle materials were reviewed and some implemented in 2005-06.
At Booderee, 1200m3 of waste went to landfill, with an additional 150m3 of paper waste, glass and metal collected from the works depot of the park for recycling. This is a recycling rate of 11%.
The ANBG collects mixed recyclables (157m3 in 2005-06) with a further 282m3 of waste going to landfill-a recycling rate of 36%.
At Uluru 1424m3 of waste was removed from the park. In addition, the community car dump was removed by contractors and about 150 cars were recycled, the accumulation of more than 10 years. Dumped cars will now be stored temporarily at the community dump site for compaction and removal from the park. The option of closing the community dump and building a transfer station for removal of waste from the park is under consideration.
As no waste collection services are available in Kakadu, co-mingled recyclables are taken by park staff to Darwin for recycling on an as needs basis. No data is available on waste landfilled or recycled from Kakadu.
On Norfolk Island and Christmas Island paper waste is shredded for garden mulch. No data is available as to the quantities of these materials.
| Parks site | Waste | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waste to landfill | Co-mingled recyclables | Other waste (tonnes)- specify type | $ cost per waste service in 2005-06 | |
| Australian National Botanic Gardens | 282m3 33.84 tonnes |
157.248m3 | 364m3 of cardboard sent to recycling | 18 268 |
| Booderee National Park |
1200m3 144 tonnes |
150m3 | No data | 92 184 |
| Christmas Island National Park | No data | No data | No data | 602 |
| Kakadu National Park | No data | No data | No data | 6694 |
| Norfolk Island National Park and Botanic Garden | No data | No data | No data | 698 |
| Pulu Keeling National Park | No data | No data | No data | 250 |
| Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 1424m3 171 tonnes |
No data | No data | 127 110 |
| Total | 2906m3 349 tonnes |
357m3 | 364m3 | $245 806 |
Commentary
Because of the high visitation levels in many of our parks, large amounts of waste are collected each year. Solid wastes include bottles, aluminium cans, paper and cardboard and non-recyclable rubbish. Parks have a number of measures in place to reduce waste and minimise the impacts of waste where possible. Bins for recycling of materials are provided where possible, but the remote parks do not have ready access to a market for recycled waste. In some parks, green waste is chipped on-site for mulch. Composting and solar powered toilets are used where practicable, and oils are collected for recycling in all parks. Herbicides and other chemicals are used, stored and disposed of in accordance with legislative requirements and best practice standards.
Goals 2006-07
- Continue to review opportunities for reusing and recycling materials where practicable
- Continue to provide collection bins for recyclable materials where practicable.
Related Indicators
Contents
- Sustainability Report 05-06
- Executive summary
- Vision and strategy
- Our organisation
- Governance
- Policy and influence
- Environmental performance
- Social performance
- Economic performance
- Report assurance statement
- Case studies
- GRI index
Key
Links to another web site
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