State funding to transform household recycling for all

THE Victorian Government is investing $127 million to prepare local councils for a new four-bin recycling system.

Under the initiative, all 79 local councils across the state will be able to purchase new bins, improve drop-off facilities, deliver educational campaigns and gain the infrastructure necessary to facilitate the roll out.

Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio announced the funding on June 24, stating local councils will be on the frontline of the new reforms.

“We are working hand-in-hand with councils to ensure they have the resources they need to roll out these reforms in every corner of the state,” she said.

As part of the new household waste and recycling system, glass will be recycled separately to prevent shards contaminating easy to recycle materials such as paper and cardboard.

“By collecting glass separately, we can make sure more of it is effectively recycled – with jars and bottles transformed multiple times into multiple products,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.

“We know all Victorians want to be able to do more to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and use resources wisely – this funding helps to do exactly that.”

Councils will share in $86 million to deliver the new household bin service with standardised bi -lids to make recycling easier for residents.

An additional $40.9 million will be available to support councils and businesses to maximise recycling, creating new jobs under the sector which reportedly provides 9.2 jobs per every 10,000 tonnes of waste, according to the state government.

Introducing the four-bin system in January 2021, the Surf Coast Shire was among the first local governments to implement the service.

In May, the shire confirmed early figures indicated the initiative had decreased waste to landfill by 33 per cent compared to the previous year, as well as recovering 220 tonnes of glass for local processing.

Mayor Libby Stapleton said the system had received positive feedback from residents.

“This new system has helped us as a community to reduce greenhouse emissions – saving waste from landfill and turning valuable resources such as food scraps into compost,” she said.