Victoria’s Government has announced its intention to introduce a container deposit scheme by 2022/23, which will work alongside a new household recycling and waste collection system.
The aim is for the new system to reduce litter and see more plastic, aluminium and glass containers recycled into new products while also creating new jobs.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio announced an investment of nearly $100m to drive research, expand the local processing and manufacturing industry, create more products from recyclable materials and support new local jobs.
The Government said the $96.5m investment will help local businesses give new life to old rubbish – better processing recyclable materials and getting more value from waste by making it available for end-market uses like recycled plastic in railway sleepers or recycled glass in footpaths.
Premier Andrews said: “Victoria will lead the way in giving new life to old rubbish – transforming plastic into roads or coffee grounds into biodegradable cups.
“With this investment, we’ll drive new ideas and innovation. But most importantly, we’ll create new Victorian jobs.”
In a statement about why it is introducing the CDS, and why it is behind other states, the Victoria Government said: “Before deciding whether to introduce a CDS in Victoria we needed to be sure that the benefits of a CDS would outweigh the costs, and that a scheme could be designed to be a good fit for Victoria.
“The Victorian Government also committed to a major overhaul of the kerbside system, and the interactions between kerbside recycling and a CDS are complex. The government has been monitoring other jurisdictions as they develop and implement their schemes and learning from their experiences.
“Waiting to introduce Victoria’s CDS means that we can utilise these learnings and design a scheme that will achieve the most benefit for Victoria.”
Coca-Cola Amatil has been the scheme coordinator in South Australia for over 40 years and Managing Director for Australia Peter West said CCA supports well-run, cost effective container deposit schemes in every state and territory.
“We welcome Victoria’s decision to use container deposit schemes to improve beverage container recycling rates,” he said.
“We are very keen to make this container deposit scheme work. When we sell a bottle, we want it to be a bottle again – and again. Container deposit schemes are the best way to support the recycling industry.
“We would like to work with the Victorian Government to ensure the container deposit scheme maximises collection rates and recycling and minimises impact on consumers and the industry.”
The government is working on the design of the Victorian CDS, and more information will be available later in 2020. Through consultation, Victorians will have the opportunity to have their say on how the scheme should be designed and implemented.