Urgent need for action on waste management

• Premier Hodgman has done nothing despite three-year-old promise
• Tasmania needs more than empty promises and talk-fests
Shadow Minister for the Environment Ella Haddad has congratulated local government on its united approach to waste management but urged the Hodgman Government to finally take a more active role in this critical area.
Ms Haddad said:
• Almost four years ago, the Hodgman Government ruled out a container deposit scheme, refusing to invest the money needed to support it.
• It is almost three years since the Hodgman Government announced “we need to facilitate effective waste management in Tasmania”, yet almost nothing has been done.
• The April 2018 EPA report into A Model Framework for a Container Refund Scheme in Tasmania needs to be adequately responded to, including the 23 recommendations contained within it.
“We need more than round tables and talk fests,” Ms Haddad said.
“LGAT has said it is time to act on a statewide basis and they are right.
“Tasmania recovers just 37 per cent of the waste it generates, compared to South Australia which is recovering 80 per cent.
“The State Government’s slow action on waste has left Tasmanian vulnerable to considerable reputational risk against its clean green image that has been steadily built over many years.
“Environment Minister Elise Archer needs to finally commence work on what the Government promised years ago. “
Ella Haddad MP Shadow Environment, Parks and Heritage Minister