State government to spend $515m on recycling system reform. Is this a waste of taxpayer money?
- Replies 20
We absolutely love hearing from members who have topic recommendations or simply want to keep us in the loop! Recently, an SDC member wrote in to advise, ‘In Victoria, they are changing green rubbish bin lids for red ones to fall in line with the State Government Policy, and have been doing this for quite a while now.’
‘What bright spark in parliament decided to make a colour change of the lids at the cost of the Victorian Tax Payer, especially when times are tough already as they are?’ they continued.
This is certainly a cause for concern and warrants a closer look.
Our research showed this is a part of the Victorian Government’s Circular Economy Strategy to cut waste and boost reuse and recycling. This strategy means every Council in Victoria is required to transition to a standardised bin system with uniform bin colours by 2027.
These include:
The rollout has already commenced, and according to the Bayside VIC Council website, you can request a new red-lidded general waste bin.
‘We know that the initial changeover may be missed or forgotten by some. If that’s your household, no worries - simply put your old dark green bin out and complete this form to get your old dark green bin collected and recycled.’
The website goes on to answer a number of questions, such as: ‘Why didn’t we just replace the lid?’
In response, the Council advised they ‘were unable to simply change the lids due to the variety of different bin types that are currently in use across the community. These bins are from a range of suppliers which require different lids and hinge points.’
They continued, ‘It would be logistically challenging and inefficient to try and retrofit the diversity of bins that exist. The reason we’ve opted for a black body is that they can be made of higher recycled content.’
The Council confirmed, ‘The old bins will get recycled locally in Cheltenham at Astron Plastics and will be recycled into new bins.’
This initiative kicked off in 2020 following the unfortunate collapse of Victoria's largest recycling company, SKM. Thousands of tonnes of valuable recyclable materials ended up in landfill– a veritable blow to the recycling zeitgeist.
Victoria's revised waste management aims to ensure better waste separation and a commitment to divert 80 per cent of waste away from landfill by 2030.
The funding will also establish a brand new facility to turn hard-to-recycle materials into sustainable building products. An additional $175,000 will go towards processing oversized green waste into organic, carbon-rich soil additives for the agricultural industry.
This certainly raises questions about how state and federal budgets can be used effectively and whether or not they currently are. In times of extreme financial uncertainty, it's challenging to justify excessive spending on the colour of bins. Though, we can recognise the valiant efforts towards protecting the environment.
We hope that the next reforms to be announced will help Australian seniors rather than focusing on superficial things, like standardising the look of bin day.
Finally, thank you to member Michael S. for bringing this to our attention. Members, we would love to hear from you. Do you think this is a good use of Australian taxpayer money? Could some of these funds have been diverted elsewhere?
‘What bright spark in parliament decided to make a colour change of the lids at the cost of the Victorian Tax Payer, especially when times are tough already as they are?’ they continued.
This is certainly a cause for concern and warrants a closer look.
Our research showed this is a part of the Victorian Government’s Circular Economy Strategy to cut waste and boost reuse and recycling. This strategy means every Council in Victoria is required to transition to a standardised bin system with uniform bin colours by 2027.
Red lids will gradually replace green lids. Image Credit: bayside.vic.gov.au
These include:
- Red-lidded general waste bins,
- Green-lidded food and green waste bins (called food organics and garden organics FOGO),
- Yellow-lidded recycling bins [next phase],
- The introduction of a separate glass recycling service [final phase].
The rollout has already commenced, and according to the Bayside VIC Council website, you can request a new red-lidded general waste bin.
‘We know that the initial changeover may be missed or forgotten by some. If that’s your household, no worries - simply put your old dark green bin out and complete this form to get your old dark green bin collected and recycled.’
The website goes on to answer a number of questions, such as: ‘Why didn’t we just replace the lid?’
In response, the Council advised they ‘were unable to simply change the lids due to the variety of different bin types that are currently in use across the community. These bins are from a range of suppliers which require different lids and hinge points.’
They continued, ‘It would be logistically challenging and inefficient to try and retrofit the diversity of bins that exist. The reason we’ve opted for a black body is that they can be made of higher recycled content.’
The Council confirmed, ‘The old bins will get recycled locally in Cheltenham at Astron Plastics and will be recycled into new bins.’
This initiative kicked off in 2020 following the unfortunate collapse of Victoria's largest recycling company, SKM. Thousands of tonnes of valuable recyclable materials ended up in landfill– a veritable blow to the recycling zeitgeist.
Victoria's revised waste management aims to ensure better waste separation and a commitment to divert 80 per cent of waste away from landfill by 2030.
The funding will also establish a brand new facility to turn hard-to-recycle materials into sustainable building products. An additional $175,000 will go towards processing oversized green waste into organic, carbon-rich soil additives for the agricultural industry.
This certainly raises questions about how state and federal budgets can be used effectively and whether or not they currently are. In times of extreme financial uncertainty, it's challenging to justify excessive spending on the colour of bins. Though, we can recognise the valiant efforts towards protecting the environment.
We hope that the next reforms to be announced will help Australian seniors rather than focusing on superficial things, like standardising the look of bin day.
Finally, thank you to member Michael S. for bringing this to our attention. Members, we would love to hear from you. Do you think this is a good use of Australian taxpayer money? Could some of these funds have been diverted elsewhere?
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