Pressure is building for the state government to introduce a container deposit scheme in Victoria, with Ballarat councillors and environment groups throwing their support behind the campaign.
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The Boomerang Alliance will travel to Ballarat as part of their ‘Big Bottle Tour’ on April 12 to rally support in the call for the recycling scheme.
Victoria is one of two Australian states yet to commit to a container deposit scheme, where refunds are given for the return of beverage containers to depots for recycling.
The scheme was first introduced in South Australia in 1977, and has seen an overall container return rate of 79.9 per cent with a 10 cent refund for each container.
City of Ballarat councillor Belinda Coates said council had incorporated advocacy for a container deposit scheme into the previous waste strategy, and had advocated to the state government on a number of occasions in past years, but the focus on waste had never been so strong.
“It is a win win. For councils, anything that prevents waste going into landfill or ending up in our waterways is of great benefit – it reduces cost to council which means it reduces cost to ratepayers,” she said.
“It would help clean up areas across the city, and for community groups it can be a source of income.”
The focus on waste has never been so strong.
- Cr Belinda Coates
No Waste Ballarat, Plastic Bag Free Ballarat and Boomerang Bags Ballarat have thrown their support behind the ‘Big Bottle Tour’ campaign.
BREAZE president Ian Rossiter said the group was a strong advocate for container deposit recycling.
“We feel it has been self evident in South Australia that the level of litter and the level of recycling has been a great demonstration of what could be achieved in Victoria if we had that legislation,” he said.
Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio said the state government continued to look at container deposit schemes in other jurisdictions to understand the benefits and costs of various models, and how they might work in Victoria.
The Northern Territory and South Australia both have an operating container deposit scheme. New South Wales began rolling out their container deposit scheme Return and Earn in December 2017, Queensland and the ACT will begin the scheme in 2018, while Western Australia’s scheme is expected to start in 2019.
Rochelle Kirkham
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
