Parliamentary Procedure

Parliament House Waste Recycling

The PRESIDENT (14:17): On Wednesday 19 February, the Hon. Mark Parnell asked me a question without notice concerning recycling in Parliament House. The question was directed to me as chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Service Committee; however, as I advised in my initial response, that position is currently held by the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

The Hon. Mr Parnell asked me to arrange for a report to be prepared for members on the current procedures for waste management and recycling within Parliament House, including steps that are being taken to improve current performance. As these matters fall within the purview of the Joint Parliamentary Service Committee, I raised the matter at the committee's last meeting.

The committee agreed to have a report prepared and issued to members in line with the Hon. Mr Parnell's request. I would, however, like to briefly outline to the chamber just some of the initiatives that have been put in place, notwithstanding the constraints and additional costs imposed on the parliament by the continuing developments surrounding the building.

Last year, Green Industries South Australia were engaged to carry out a site visit and audit for the parliament, which provided recommendations for better waste management practices, and regular follow-up meetings continue. Where possible, those recommendations have been implemented, together with other initiatives, and they include:

a battery collection station has been in operation for almost 12 months;

printer/toner cartridges collection and recycling is undertaken through Planet Ark;

the collection of confidential paper bins with the material being recycled;

recycled paper and cardboard bins are collected three times per week;

light globes are collected by the preferred DPTI contractor and recycled;

the replacement of all lighting with LED is almost 90 per cent complete;

recyclable and container deposit cans, bottles and milk containers are collected by Scouts SA;

negotiating for some products to be now delivered without plastic wrapping;

energy saving technologies through the continual upgrade of the site's building management system;

the recent installation of variable speed drives to both cooling towers, resulting in significant energy savings; and

the trialling of BioBags to several locations, including the kitchen, dining areas and several offices; however, there have been issues with melting of the bags in the kitchen area.

Recycling and processing of our waste has been hampered by the loss of both the loading bay and access to Station Road. I advise that discussions are currently underway with DPTI concerning waste and cleaning contracts with a view to implementing full recycling in July 2021, subject to completion of the parliament's new purpose-built loading and waste disposal zone within the redeveloped car park, which will provide new possibilities both for collection within the building and from outside the building.