Clean Up Australia Day - Sunday 4th March

Clean Up Australia Day is next Sunday. I'll be at the Warner's Bay Foreshore clean up site and I look forward to joining the many thousands of volunteers who will be doing their bit to clean up our communities and natural environments.

Clean Up Day is a wonderful initiativethat would be made a lot easier for those involved if we produced less waste on the other 364 days of the year.

A 10-cent deposit on drink bottles and cans would dramatically improve recycling rates in NSW and force industry to take more responsibility for the waste it creates.

Survey figures released today by Clean Up Australia show that 83% of people in NSW believe a ten cent deposit and refund scheme would encourage more people to recycle bottles and cans, and that 89% think drink manufacturers should be involved in setting up such a deposit and refund scheme.

A 10-cent deposit scheme would force industry to be more responsiblefor this waste and would also boost recycling rates enormously.

In South Australia, where they have a deposit scheme, the recycling rate is over 80 per cent.

Container Deposit Legislation (CDL) would work hand-in-hand withcouncil kerbside recycling to reduce waste going to landfill.

The current national agreement to reduce waste, the National Packaging Covenant, does not force the packaging industry and retailers to take on a fair share of the costs of recycling.

Taxpayers continue to foot the bill to prop up kerbside recycling while the companies that create the waste in the first place sidestepany responsibility for where the waste ends up.

A container deposit scheme would create a level playing field where consumers and producers shared responsibility for dealing with waste. Landfill space is fast running out and more effective ways of recycling are urgently needed.

It would also help make Clean Up Australia Day a cost effective exercise for those fantastic people that get involved in it.