Over the past 50 years there has been little change in the way waste is contained, collected, transported and delivered for disposal at landfills. In recent years a new emphasis has been placed on the recovery and re-use of resources, with systems designed to separate waste into streams to maximise recycling. A good example is Canberra's kerbside recycling service. At-source separation provides the most efficient opportunity for resource recovery. Possible resource separation systems need to be fully researched and developed to minimise costs and return maximum environmental benefits.
Local landfills have a limited life.
Even with increased efforts to minimise waste, the ACT's landfills will be full within the next 15 years. Current practices at local landfills have high operational and environmental costs. Effective management is required for other materials which cannot now be recycled. Tight regulation and tracking systems will need to be developed to ensure that hazardous materials are correctly identified and the best management practices implemented. In many cases, storing these materials in secure sites is the most appropriate response until a technology is developed to re -use, recycle or dispose of them in an environmentally safe manner.