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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 1798 asked in the Legislative Council on 28 November 2018 by Hon Dr Steve Thomas

Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Tabled Paper No: 2422- View tabled paper


Question

I refer to the Waste Authority document Roads to Reuse, released in September 2018 which "sets out product specification for recycled road base and recycled drainage rock" and identifies on page 2 that "material meeting this specification will no longer be considered a waste for the purposes of the waste levy", and I ask:
(a) what was the scientific and/or technical rationale upon which the threshold specifications identified in table 2 on page 16 were development or set;
(b) were the maximum concentration levels taken from or based on any other jurisdictions, guidelines or research documentation:
(i) if yes to (b), what was the source and will the Minister table it;
(c) why do these thresholds differ from the thresholds set for uncontaminated fill in table 6 of the Landfill Waste Classification and Waste Definitions 1996 (as amended 2018); and
(d) given that the thresholds for recycled road base in the Roads to Reuse document for chromium, copper, lead and mercury are double, the zince threshold is four times, and the nickel threshold is six times those in the Waste Definitions document, would such road reuse material be classified as "uncontaminated fill"?

Answered on 20 February 2019

(a) – (b)    With the exception of the limit for asbestos, the limits were taken from the Material guideline: Construction products (Department of Environment Regulation, 2014). The specified asbestos limit was changed on advice from the Department of Health to make it consistent with the Guidelines for managing asbestos at construction and demolition waste recycling facilities (Department of Environment and Conservation, 2012).

The Material guideline: Construction products formed part of the previous government’s end-of-waste policy framework. The decision of Justice Beech in Eclipse Resources Pty Ltd v the State of Western Australia [No. 4] [2016] WASC 62 clarified the meaning of waste and application of the waste levy, and therefore affected the legal framework for end-of-waste. As a result, the material guideline was withdrawn, however the product specification limits remain relevant and have been used in the Roads to Reuse document.

Records indicate that the following sources were considered in developing the limits for table 2 of the Material guideline: Construction products:

  • Western Australian guidelines for biosolids management (Department of Environment and Conservation, 2012);
  • Standard for the production and use of Waste Derived Fill (South Australia Environment Protection Authority, 2013);
  • Guidelines for managing asbestos at construction and demolition waste recycling facilities (Department of Environment and Conservation, 2012); and
  • The excavated natural material exemption (New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, 2012).

 

The establishment of limits in the material guideline was also informed through the public and stakeholder consultation undertaken on the draft material guideline.

(b) (i) See table paper no # 

(c)-(d) The specifications in the Roads to Reuse document apply only to recycled material used as road base and drainage rock in accordance with Table 1 and subject to the restrictions specified in the document. The material concentration thresholds combined with testing and audit procedures required under the Roads to Reuse program ensure that all material recycled as road base and drainage rock under this program is safe and appropriate for that use. As outlined clearly in the document, material that meets these specifications and is used for the authorised product applications in Table 1 is no longer considered a waste .

The specifications included in the amended Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 and the definitions of clean fill and uncontaminated fill in Table 6 of the Landfill Waste Classification and Waste Definitions 1996 (amended 2018) are relevant only to material that is defined as waste. There are no restrictions on the use of waste that meets the thresholds for uncontaminated fill, hence the thresholds outlined in Table 6 of the Waste Definitions are necessarily more stringent than the specifications in the Roads to Reuse document.