Melburnians to help plan their waste and recycling future

Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Anthony Carbines is inviting Melburnians to have their say on planning for Melbourne’s future waste and recycling infrastructure requirements.

The invitation follows the release of the draft Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan. The draft plan will support the Andrews Labor government’s Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan by setting out how metropolitan Melbourne’s waste and resource recovery needs will be met over the next 10 years and beyond.

The draft plan will respond to the needs of metropolitan Melbourne’s rapidly growing population while increasing the recovery and recycling of waste. It proposes 10 priority actions that will help reduce Melbourne’s reliance on landfills and increase the amount of resource recovery from waste, including:

• increasing recycling by consolidating waste from councils across Melbourne;
• providing industry with the opportunity to invest in new technologies to divert waste from landfill; and
• improving education around waste and recycling and increasing the recovery of food and garden waste, which currently cause odour and leachate issues in landfill.

“This plan will reduce our reliance on landfill by looking at new ways to prevent waste going to the tip, such as through education and recovering things that are still useful,” said Carbines.

“Diverting waste from landfill while building up the resource recovery industry is good for jobs and good for the environment.

“We all have a role in the creation and management of waste, so it’s important we listen to community, local government and industry when planning our future waste management needs.”

To view the draft plan and get involved, visit www.participate.mwrrg.vic.gov.au. Contributors can leave their feedback in a variety of ways, including through surveys, comments, formal submissions and community drop-in sessions.