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WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE RECOVERY REGULATION 2017 (NO 20 OF 2017)
2017
THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
FOR THE AUSTRALIAN
CAPITAL TERRITORY
WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE RECOVERY REGULATION
2017
SL2017-20
EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
Circulated by authority of Meegan Fitzharris MLA
Minister for
Transport and City Services
WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE RECOVERY REGULATION 2017
Introduction
This explanatory statement relates to the Waste
Management and Resource Recovery Regulation 2017 (Regulation), made under
the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Act 2016 (Act) as presented to
the Legislative Assembly. It has been prepared to assist the reader and to help
inform debate. It does not form part of the Regulation and has not been endorsed
by the ACT Legislative Assembly.
This explanatory statement must be read
in conjunction with the Regulation. It is not intended to be a
comprehensive description of the Regulation. What is written about a provision
is not to be taken as an authoritative statement of the meaning of a provision,
this being a responsibility of the courts.
Overview of the
Regulation
The purpose of the Act is to promote and reward responsible
best-practice in waste management and resource recovery. The Act was developed
following extensive industry and community consultation.
The objects in
the Act align with the Government’s waste management policy
objectives.
Section 128 of the Act provides a general regulation-making
power, specifically that a regulation may:
(a) exclude people or activities
from the application of the provisions of the Act and
(b) create offences
for contraventions of the regulations and fix penalties of not more than 40
penalty units for the offences.
The Regulation builds upon the Waste
Minimisation Regulation 2001 (Waste Minimisation Regulation). The only
significant departures from the previous regulatory regime are the licensing,
registration and reporting requirements for waste businesses, as well as
additional offence provisions which strengthen the Government’s ability to
penalise inappropriate and potentially dangerous waste management practices
where compliance is not achieved through public education or the issuing of a
rectification notice under s17. These changes are explained in this
document.
A number of provisions in the Act provide for regulations to
specify matters such as:
• declaring a substance to be within the
meaning of “waste”;
• including a person or activity to be
within the meaning of “waste management
business”;
• information to be included in an application for a
waste facility licence, or for registration as a waste
transporter;
• entities to be consulted in relation to a proposed
licence;
• information to be included in a
licence;
• information to be included in
registers;
• conditions to be imposed on licences or
registration;
• information to be included in forms and
instruments;
• requirements for the display of a waste transporters
registration number;
• matters in relation to which the Waste Manager
may give directions;
• matters that must or may not be taken into
account in making certain decisions;
• prohibited
activities;
• reporting waste activities; and
• requirements
for written consent for some waste activity.
This Regulation seeks to
bring the ACT into line with other Australian jurisdictions in relation to waste
management. All Australian states have legislation with provisions which have
acted as models for this Regulation.
Human rights
implications—presumption of innocence - offence provisions
Offences
of strict liability engage the right to be presumed innocent under section 22(1)
of the Human Rights Act 2004 (Human Rights Act), as they may reverse the
onus of proof from the prosecution onto the defendant. Strict liability offences
engage the presumption of innocence and are inherently compatible with human
rights.
Subsection 28(1) of the Human Rights Act provides that human
rights are subject only to reasonable limits set by laws that can be
demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Section 28(2) of the
Human Rights Act then provides that, in deciding whether a limit on a human
right is reasonable, all relevant factors must be considered. Section 28(2)
further provides five factors that must be considered when determining whether a
limit on human rights is considered justified.
The limit that the
Regulation places on the right to the presumption of innocence in section 22(1)
of the Human Rights Act is considered reasonable and justifiable in a free and
democratic society, taking into account the factors enumerated in section 28(2)
of the Human Rights Act, namely:
(a) The nature of the right
affected
The right to presumption of innocence before the law is a very
important right that has long been recognised in common law and, in the
Australian Capital Territory (Territory), is now codified in section 22(1) of
the Human Rights Act. However, the right may be subject to limits, particularly
when those who are subject to an offence provision would be expected to be aware
of its existence. An important provision in the Regulation in this regard is
section 17, which provides for an “authorised person” (most likely,
the Waste Manager) to issue a rectification notice to a person whom it has
alleged has breached one of the offence provisions. The intention is to allow
the authorised person to inform and educate those alleged to have committed an
offence against the Regulation about their legal obligations and provide them
with the opportunity to rectify their conduct. This approach, along with a
public education campaign about the Act and the Regulation, is intended to
foster best-practice waste management throughout the ACT community in line with
the objects and principles of the Act.
The proposed strict liability
offences are regulatory in nature, and target regulatory requirements that are
central to establishing and maintaining an effective “best-practice”
framework for managing waste that aims to protect the environment and public
health and safety:
• failing to segregate waste
(s18);
• failing to keep waste in a waste container
(s19);
• failing to maintain a waste container in a hygienic condition
(s20);
• keeping waste in an unsightly condition
(s21);
• failing to keep a waste container properly closed (s22);
and
• failing to place or keep a waste container within the property
boundary or at an approved location (s23).
(b) The importance of the
purpose of the limitation
The purpose of providing a reverse onus of
proof through strict liability offences is to ensure the effective enforcement
of and compliance with key requirements in the Act and regulations. The
limitation on the right to be presumed innocent in section 22(1) of the Human
Rights Act is aimed at ensuring the effective operation of the regulatory
framework.
(c) The nature and extent of the limitation
The
strict liability offences engage the right to be presumed innocent by shifting
the onus of proof from the prosecution onto a defendant. The requirements to
which the offences apply are not burdensome in nature and generally relate to
the appropriate, safe and effective storage, collection and disposal of
waste.
The penalties are considered proportionate and not unduly harsh
for offences of a regulatory nature.
(d) Any less restrictive means
reasonably available to achieve the purpose the limitation seeks to
achieve
An evidential onus, rather than a strict liability offence, would
be less restrictive on the right to be presumed innocent found in section 22(1)
of the Human Rights Act. It would not, however, prove to be as effective in
prosecuting the proposed offences. Strict liability offences provide that the
defendant’s act alone, rather than the reasons that the defendant acted in
that way or his or her intention in so doing, should dictate the
offence.
The inclusion of strict liability within an offence limits the
range of defences that may be available for a person accused of the offence to
which it applies; but a number of defences remain open to the accused, depending
on the particular circumstances of each case. Section 23(1)(b) of the
Criminal Code 2002 provides a specific defence to strict liability
offences of mistake of fact. Section 23(3) of the Code provides that other
defences may also be available for strict liability offences, including the
defence of intervening conduct or event, as provided by section 39 of the
Code.
The use of strict liability offences for waste activity is
appropriate because the offences apply to people who use and receive waste
facilities and services. The Regulation places them on notice that they must
abide by the laws that govern the activity. They place themselves in a
relationship of responsibility with the broader community.
It is on this
basis that the Government believes that the use of strict liability offences
contained in the Regulation is
• relevant to the policy objectives of
environment protection and community safety, both of which are demonstrably
justifiable and reasonable; and
• comparable with strict liability
provisions in regulations in other jurisdictions.
Notes on
clauses
PART 1 PRELIMINARY
Licensing of waste facilities
and registration of waste transporters
Critical to an effective waste
management system is knowing what waste is going where and what is happening to
it. The licensing and registration provisions require entities to provide
sufficient information to the Waste Manager as would allow him or her to know
how waste is being managed in the Territory. All Australian states require, in
various forms, waste facilities to be licensed and waste transporters to be
registered.
Offences
Part 4 of the Regulation contains a range
of offence provisions carrying a penalty of 30 penalty units or less. The
offences in clauses 18-22 and 24 are very similar to the offences in Parts 2 and
3 of the Waste Minimisation Regulation, which the Regulation
replaces.
There are also several new offences in
the Regulation which distinguish it from the Waste Minimisation Regulation.
Specifically:
• Clause 14 establishes an offence of interfering
with waste at a facility, without the consent of the licensee;
• Clause
15 requires waste transporters to comply with directions at a waste
facility;
• Clause 16 relates to the improper transportation of waste,
supporting waste leakage and spillage offences under the Environment
Protection Act 1997;
• Clause17 allows for an authorised person to
issue a rectification (compliance) notice to a person to rectify their conduct
instead of incurring a penalty for an offence under Part 4, if found guilty of
an offence. The intention is to educate a person alleged to have committed an
offence against the Regulation about their legal obligations and provide them
with the opportunity to rectify their conduct. This approach, along with a
public education campaign about the Act and the Regulation, is intended to
foster best-practice waste management practices throughout the ACT community in
line with the objects and principles of the Act; and
• Clause 23
follows provisions in a number of other Australian jurisdictions in prescribing
the location and storage of waste containers. This provision has been included
to deal with limitations on location storage of waste containers in multi-unit
developments.
The other offence provisions (clauses18-22 and 24) mirror
the offences in the Waste Minimisation Regulation and are not new, in
substance.
The offence provisions in the Regulation will have a real
impact only on people who breach their legal obligations, which are
substantially behavioural rather than procedural. With the exception of clause
13, which allows for a maximum penalty of up to 30 penalty units for disposing
of regulated waste at a licensed waste facility without the licensee’s
consent in circumstances where the person knows the licensee does not consent,
the maximum penalty for each offence is relatively low (5-20 penalty
units).
The offence provisions are designed to discourage irresponsible
waste management practices which have the potential to cause any or all of the
following:
• Contamination of waste or resource at a waste
facility;
• Interference with waste at a waste
facility;
• Unauthorised or illegal dumping of
waste;
• Spillage of waste;
• Unauthorised mixing of waste;
and
• Unhygienic and/or unsightly conditions.
Reporting
Reporting of waste activity is critical to informing the Government
about the scale and scope of the waste management industry in the Territory. All
other Australian states require waste management businesses (facilities and
transporters) to report data on their activities.
The ACT Waste
Management Strategy[1] identified a
need for more effective management and regulation of waste. The Act and
Regulation provide for a waste regulatory system to be established in the
Territory. A reporting mechanism requiring the waste industry to collect and
report data about the waste they deal with is critical to the management of
waste and identifying opportunities to enhance resource recovery.
As the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services noted in her second
reading speech in support of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Bill
2016 in June 2016, ‘To manage waste activity in a way that encourages
recycling and recovery, while discouraging the sending of waste to landfill, we
must have an understanding of where waste is being generated and where it is
going...’[2]
The
proposed waste reporting mechanism under clauses 25-26 will not impact on
householders. Only waste management businesses will be required to collect and
report information about the source of their waste, its composition and
quantity, its destination (recycling, reuse or disposal) and information about
vehicle registrations and the location of the source of the waste.
During industry consultation, a small number of responses indicated that
the amount of information waste businesses would be required to report would
potentially be administratively cumbersome for smaller waste facilities,
particularly those without electronic waste recording systems and
weighbridges.
To address this concern, subclause 25(2) of
the Regulation gives the Waste Manager the flexibility to adapt the information
some waste businesses are required to provide, subject to their infrastructure
and capacity to provide the information.
It is anticipated that over time
the reporting requirements will be adapted and streamlined as the profile of the
waste industry is better understood. As the Minister highlighted in her second
reading speech[3], ‘the
content of reports may become more sophisticated over time as technology and
business practices allow. In the short term, however, the burden of this
requirement will be kept to a minimum’.
There will also be
comprehensive industry consultation ahead of any changes to the reporting
requirements to ensure they meet both the Government’s waste policy
objectives and do not unreasonably impact on the waste industry.
The
Government is investigating the possibility of an on-line waste reporting system
which collects data in real time via a smart phone application. This sort of
reporting mechanism would potentially result in less administrative burden for
the regulated waste industry.
Part 1 Preliminary
Clause 1. Name of Regulation
This is a formal provision stating
that the name of the regulation is the Waste Management and Resource Recovery
Regulation 2017.
Clause 2. Commencement
This is a formal provision stating that the
Regulation commences on the commencement of the Waste Management and Resource
Recovery Act 2016, section 128.
Clause 3. Dictionary
This is a formal provision stating that the
dictionary at the end of the Regulation is part of the Regulation.
Clause 4. Notes
This is a formal provision stating that a note
included in the Regulation is explanatory and not part of the Regulation.
Clause 5. Offences against regulation – application of Criminal
Code etc
Other legislation applies in
relation to offences against the Regulation.
PART 2 Waste facility
licences
Clause 6. Information for licence application – Act,
s19(2)(b)
Clause 1 sets out the information that must be provided by a
person in an application under Section 18 of the Act for a waste facility
licence.
For the purposes of paragraph 6(h) of the Regulation, the provision
provides a number of examples to assist the applicant’s understanding of
how to describe the kind of waste activity to be conducted.
For the
purposes of paragraph 6(i) of the Regulation, Schedule 1 to the Regulation sets
out the categories of waste to be referred to in an application.
The
information required to be provided is important to identify the entity seeking
a waste facility licence, the land on which the facility is to be operated and
the type of waste activity to be undertaken.
Clause 7. Entities to be consulted before licence application
decision – Act, s22(2)
This clause prescribes the entities to be
consulted by the Waste Manager before approving an application for a licence
under section 22 of the Act.
The Waste Manager must consult:
(a) the
chief officer (fire and rescue);
(b) the environment protection
authority;
(c) if the application relates to a facility that will receive
clinical waste – the chief health officer.
The provision mandates
cross agency consultation before a waste facility licence is issued by the Waste
Manager so that the fire safety, public health and environmental impacts of a
potential waste facility are considered prior to the issue of a licence.
PART 3 Waste transporter registration
Clause 8. Definitions – pt 3
Clause 8 defines the terms
“manufacturer” and “model designation” for Part 3.
Clause 9. Information for registration application – Act,
s31(2)(b)
Clause 9 sets out the information that must be provided by a
person in an application under section 31 of the Act to be registered as a waste
transporter.
For the purposes of paragraph 9(e) of the Regulation,
Schedule 1 to the Regulation sets out the categories of waste to be referred to
in an application.
The information required to be provided is important
to identify the entity seeking a waste transporter registration, the land on
which the facility is to be operated and the type of waste activity to be
undertaken.
Clause 10. Information for register of waste transporters – Act,
s37(2)(a)
Clause 10 sets out the
information that must be included in the register of waste transporters kept by
the waste manager in accordance with section 37 of the Act. Under paragraph
37(2)(b) of the Act, the Waste Manager may also include any information the
waste manager considers relevant.
The information required to be provided
under clauses 10 and 11 is important for identifying the entity seeking to
register as a waste transporter so that the movement of waste throughout the
Territory can be monitored.
PART 4 Waste storage, collection,
etc
Clause 11. Definitions – pt4
Clause 11 defines terms used in
Part 4 of the Regulation.
Clause 12. Responsibilities and liabilities of joint
occupiers
Clause 12 applies if, under subclause 17(1) of the Regulation,
a rectification notice may be given to an occupier of premises in relation to a
matter. The rectification notice may also be given to another occupier of the
premises if the requirements in paragraphs 12(1)(a) and (b) are
met.
Subclause 12(2) states that, if a proceeding is started against an
occupier of premises for an offence under Part 4 of the Regulation, a proceeding
for the same offence may also be started against another occupier of the
premises.
Clause 12 ensures that a rectification notice may be given in
relation to a waste at a premises, on reasonable grounds, if it is believed that
an offence may have been committed in relation to waste at the premises,
regardless of who is occupying the premises at the time a notice is
issued.
Clause 13. Disposal of regulated waste at a waste
facility
Clause 13 makes it an offence for a person to dispose of
regulated waste at a waste facility where the licensee of the facility does not
consent to the disposal and the person knows that the licensee does not consent.
Regulated waste is waste with a higher potential to contain harmful
characteristics. It is therefore important that any unauthorised disposal of
this type of waste is specifically prohibited and subject to
penalty.
Clause 14. Unauthorised conduct at waste facility –
Act, s64(2)(e)
Clause 14 makes it an offence to interfere with waste at a
waste facility, without the consent of the licensee of the facility and in the
knowledge that the licensee does not consent.
The provision is designed
to discourage people interfering with waste in a way that might cause waste to
be contaminated, public health issues (for example if hazardous waste is removed
from a waste facility), the devaluing of a potential resource or asset or the
theft of property belonging to a waste facility operator.
Clause
15. Waste transporter must comply with directions etc at
waste facility – Act, s64(a)(c) and (e)
Clause 15 makes it an
offence for a waste transporter to enter a waste facility to collect or dispose
of waste and fail to do one or more of the things set out in paragraphs 15(c)(i)
to (iv) if given reasonable directions by operator of the waste facility.
Examples of “reasonable directions” are provided.
Clauses
13,14 and 15 were introduced to assist a waste facility operator to comply with
their obligations under the Act and the Regulation by preventing rogue behaviour
which might result in contamination of waste, threats to public health, the
devaluing of a resource or asset belonging to a waste facility operator or
licensee, theft or damage to facility machinery and other facility
infrastructure, or the breach of a licence condition.
Clause 16.
Waste escaping from vehicle or equipment – Act, s64(2)(c)
Subclause
16(1) makes it an offence for a waste transporter to operate a vehicle or
equipment to transport or collect waste when there is a reasonable likelihood
that waste will escape from the vehicle or equipment.
Subclause 16(2)
states that it is an offence if a waste transporter operates a vehicle or
equipment to transport or collect waste, and waste escapes from the vehicle or
equipment.
Maximum penalties of 20 penalty units apply to offences in
this clause.
Section 128 of the Act provides for a Regulation to create
offences for contraventions of the regulations and fix penalties of not more
than 40 penalty units.
Subclause 16(3) states that, if the person
mentioned in subclause 16(1) or (2) is a partnership, then each partner in the
partnership commits an offence.
Subclause 16(4) sets out circumstances in
which there is a defence to a prosecution for an offence under clause
16.
Subclause 16(5) defines terms used in clause16.
Clause 16 is
similar to section 117 of the Protection of the Environment Operations
(Waste) Regulation 2014 (NSW) (Avoid escape of waste during transportation).
It is notable that the NSW provision applies to any person, whereas the
proposed ACT provision only applies to a waste transporter which is a waste
management business, regulated under the Act. It does not apply to the general
public as in NSW.
Clause 17. Waste rectification notice – Act,
s64(2)(a) and (d)
Subclause 17(1) provides that an authorised person may
give the occupier of premises a “waste rectification notice” if the
authorised person believes the occupier’s conduct is an offence under Part
4 of the Regulation.
Subclause 17(2) sets out what a waste rectification
notice must state. The intention of the requirements is to ensure that a waste
rectification notice identifies the premises and the occupier, the conduct that
is alleged to be an offence, the action required to address the conduct, the
time within which the notice should be complied with, and the potential
consequences of failing to comply.
Subclause 17(3) sets out requirements
for determining the compliance day for a notice.
Subclause 17(4) states
that if the identity of the occupier of the premises is not known, the notice
may be addressed to ‘the occupier’ or ‘the
householder’.
Sublcause 17 mirrors provisions in NSW legislation
for the issuing of a rectification or compliance notice by an authorised person
in the first instance, under appropriate circumstances, rather than the
authorised person seeking to prosecute a person:
• s96
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) – called a
“Notice of Preventative Action”
• s125 Environment
Protection Act 1997 (ACT) – called an “Environment Protection
Order”
It is noteworthy that most Australian jurisdictions have a
waste rectification or compliance notice regime.
The following clauses,
18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 24, essentially mirror existing clauses in the Waste
Minimisation Regulation and are directed towards mandating minimum standards of
conduct for households in relation to the management of the wastes they produce.
They are standards with which the reasonable person can easily comply;
regulatory action is only likely to be taken against persistent or recalcitrant
offenders in a small number of cases.
Clause 18. Waste segregation
– Act, s64(2)(a) and (d)
Subclause 18(1) states that it is an
offence for a person to place waste in a “domestic waste container”
if the waste is not “domestic waste”.
Subclause 18(2) states
that it is an offence for a person to place waste in a “domestic
recyclable waste container” if the waste is not “domestic recyclable
waste”.
Subclause 18(3) states that it is an offence for a person
to place waste in a green waste container if the waste is not “garden
waste”. “Domestic waste” is defined in the Dictionary to the
Regulation.
An offence against clause 18 is a strict liability
offence.
Note: A definition of domestic waste is included in the
Dictionary to the Regulation.
Clause 19. Failure to keep waste in
waste container – Act, s64(2)(d)
Subclause 19(1) states that it is
an offence for an occupier of premises to keep waste on premises if the waste is
not in a waste container where that waste could reasonably be expected to be
kept in a waste container.
An offence against clause 19 is a strict
liability offence.
Clause 20. Unhygienic waste container – Act,
s64(2)(d)
Subclause 20(1) states that it is an offence for an occupier of
premises to keep waste on premises when the container is in an unhygienic
condition or causes unhygienic conditions.
The term “unhygienic
condition” is defined in subclause 20(3).
An offence against clause
20 is a strict liability offence.
Clause 21. Unsightly waste –
Act, s64(2)(d)
Subclause 21(1) states that it is an offence for an
occupier of premises to keep waste on premises when the waste, or a significant
part of the waste, is clearly visible from other premises (including land that
is accessible to the public) and is unsightly.
An offence against clause
21 is a strict liability offence.
Clause 22. Waste container not
closed – Act, s64(2)(d)
Subclause 22(1) states that it is an
offence if an occupier of premises fails to ensure that the lid of a waste
container is closed if the waste container contains waste.
Subclause
22(3) states that the offence in subclause 22(1) does not apply if the waste
container is placed in a public area for use by members of the public.
An
offence against clause 22 is a strict liability offence
Clause
23. Location of waste container – Act, s64(2)(d)
Subclause 23(1)
states that it is an offence for an occupier of premises to store waste in a
waste container and fails to ensure that the container is kept within the
property boundary other than when the container is placed for collection by a
waste collection service, when it must be placed in a manner that the access to
the waste container by the waste collection service is not
obstructed.
Subclause 23(3) states that the offence of failing to keep a
container within the boundary for the premises (or such other place as is
approved) does not apply if the container has been removed from that place for
collection by a waste collection service, has been removed from the place for a
reasonable period before or after the scheduled time for collection of waste, or
if the container has been damaged or is unwanted, it has been placed for
collection of the container.
Subclause 23(4) states that the offence of
failing to ensure that a waste container is placed so that a waste collection
service has unobstructed access to the container does not apply if reasonable
steps were taken to ensure that unobstructed access for the waste collection
service was provided.
The term “waste collection day” is
defined in subclause 23(5).
An offence against clause 23 is a strict
liability offence.
Clause 24. Permission to enter premises –
Act, s64(2)(e)
Clause 25 provides that an employee or agent of a waste
collection service may, at any reasonable time, enter premises to carry out the
service. The provision provides that premises does not include any
building, part of a building or structure used as living quarters so as to
ensure the protection of people’s privacy and human rights.
PART
5 Reporting
Clause 25. Waste activity report information – Act,
s65(2)(a)
Clause 25 provides that waste facility licensees and registered
waste transporters must report their waste activities. However, the Waste
Manager has the discretion to exempt a waste business from some or all of the
reporting requirements, where the Waste Manager believes that the business does
not have the capacity or infrastructure to provide all of the information
required by the provision.
Under section 65 of the Act, a report must be
given to the Waste Manager not later than 1 month after the end of each
quarterly reporting period.
Clause 26 Reporting period for waste
activity report – Act, s65(3)
Clause 26 states that the reporting
period for the purposes for section 65(3) of the Act is each
quarter.
Clauses 26 and 27 were included because reporting of waste
management activity is critical to the Government’s objective of managing
the movement and treatment of waste and identifying opportunities to enhance
recycling and resource recovery.
PART 6 Miscellaneous
Clause
28. Waste quantification – Act, s65
Clause 28 sets out a method for
quantifying waste when records relating to the waste are inadequate, to decide a
fee that is payable or for the purposes of the Waste Manager verifying
information in a waste activity report required under section 65 of the Act.
Clause 28 apples whether waste was collected or received by a waste facility
before, on or after the commencement of the section.
Paragraph 28(1)(c)
states that the provision apples if presumptions must be made
about:
(i) whether waste was collected or received at a waste
facility;
(ii) when the waste was collected or received;
(iii) the source
of the waste that was collected or received;
(iv) the amount of waste
collected or received.
Subclause 28(2) sets out the circumstances in
which records relating to waste do not exist or are inadequate.
Subclause
28(3) states that the Waste Manager may presume that waste at a waste facility
was received by the facility in the course of business, and that waste was
collected or received on the day that the Waste Manager decides that the records
are inadequate.
Subclause 28(4) sets out methods that may be used by the
Waste Manager to estimate the number of tonnes of waste transported by a waste
transporter or received by a waste facility.
Subclause 28(5) empowers the
Waste Manager to direct a licensee to arrange for a volumetric survey to be
carried out by a registered surveyor, to provide a copy of the survey to the
Waste Manager or to comply with any other condition reasonably related to
carrying out the survey.
Subclause 28(6) states that, if the Waste
Manager relies on a volumetric survey to estimate the tonnage of waste, the
Waste Manager must either take each 2 cubic metres of waste to weigh 1
tonne or apply another method that the Waste Manager is satisfied will provide a
more accurate estimate.
The provision was included in order to quantify
waste for the purpose of establishing waste collection fees payable or for the
reporting of waste activity in order to ascertain the volume of waste being
handled in the Territory. In a small number of cases, waste operators
deliberately fail to keep records of waste in order to avoid charges (eg. Waste
Levies). This provision is designed to provide a level regulatory playing field
regarding the imposition of waste charges, in the event some operators decide to
circumvent the charging system by deliberately failing to keep accurate records
of their waste.
Schedule 1 Waste categories
Schedule 1 sets out
categories of waste for the purposes of the Act.
Dictionary
The
Dictionary defines terms used in the Regulation.
[1] Environment and Sustainable
Development Directorate, ACT Waste Management Strategy: Towards
a sustainable Canberra
2011-2025
[2] ACT Legislative
Assembly, Hansard , June 7 2016, p
1716
[3] Ibid