The Victorian Government has developed a 10-year plan to reduce pollution and promote sustainability, suggesting new ways to combat waste and improve recycling systems.
Based on current modeling Victoria is expected to produce 40 percent more waste in 2046 than it did in 2017-2018.
The increase in waste will add pressure to the state’s waste and recycling network and see a rise in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
In February 2020 the State Government released Recycling Victoria: A new economy, detailing a 10-year action plan to transform Victoria’s recycling system, proposing four key changes:
- A four-bin waste and recycling system by 2030.
- A container deposit scheme by 2022-2023, to swap cans and bottles for cash.
- An investment of $100 million to Victoria’s waste and recycling industry.
- Development of a new waste and recycling Act and Waste Authority.
On 12 September 2020 the Government released the proposed model for the Waste Authority, prompting the public to provide feedback to ensure the authority’s proposed outcomes were beneficial to the wider community.
The main goals of the new waste and recycling legislation are to support Victoria in achieving its waste and recycling targets, ensuring the services are reliable and meet the expectations of the Victorian population.
Vicky Darling, Interim Chair for Sustainability Victoria, welcomes the transformation of the waste and resource recovery sector as she believes it will benefit all Victorians by providing an effective and resilient system.
“We encourage and welcome feedback and look forward to hearing views from across the sector and wider community during the forthcoming consultation and engagement process that will inform the final governance model of the new Authority,” she said.
Darling predicts collaboration on the new Waste Authority will improve transparency and result in better outcomes for Victorians.
“Sustainability Victoria will continue to collaborate and engage in the transformation and reform of the waste and recycling sector to see the Recycling Victoria vision implemented for the benefit of all Victorians,” she said.
Victorians are encouraged to read the Options Paper and complete the relevant surveys to ensure the final legislation is representative of the relevant stakeholders and wider community, the surveys can be found here:
Survey for Victorian local governments.
Survey for waste and resource recovery industry stakeholders.
Survey for the broader community.
Photo: School Recycling Posters by wastebusters available HERE and used under a Creative Commons Attribution. The image has not been modified.
