The big picture - Four bins for all Victorians
Until recently, Australia routinely sent more than half its plastics waste (56.5 per cent) overseas. When China banned the import of most plastics and other recyclables in 2017, it caused a major disruption to global recycling markets. This affected all Australians and became known as the ‘recycling crisis’.
In response, the Victorian Government delivered a 10-year action plan in February 2020 to reform Victoria’s waste and recycling industry. Titled Recycling Victoria: a new economy, the policy outlines the benefits of a circular economy approach to the use of our resources. This includes the introduction of a four-bin kerbside collection system for all Victorians.
What is a circular economy?
A circular economy reduces the reliance on natural resources by designing a production system that favours reuse, repair and, recycling. This has far reaching benefits for the residents of Hobsons Bay and broader Victorian community.
By 2030, the Victorian Government aims to divert 80 per cent of all waste from landfill. This will see a large investment in local recycling infrastructure and is projected to create 3900 jobs.
Hobsons Bay City Council seized the opportunity to respond to the ‘recycling crisis’, acting quickly to prioritise plans in the Waste and Litter Management Strategy 2025. We are taking control of our waste and recycling by working together as a community to reduce the amount of waste we produce and send to landfill, recycling and processing our waste locally wherever we can, and increasing the amount and value of our recycling.
We’re really proud to work with our local partners, including APR (commingled recycling), Alex Fraser and O-I Glass (glass recycling) and to extend our existing contracts with Veolia (food and garden composting) and Cleanaway (kerbside collections). Our move towards increasingly local recycling processing contributes to more local jobs.
For more information on the circular economy 10-year action plan, visit Recycling Victoria: a new economy.