Would you be prepared to use a fourth bin? A fifth? Or even a sixth? Would you take your glass bottles to a separate processing centre if it helped the environment?
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These are the sort of questions Ballarat residents may need to answer very soon, according to La Vergne Lehmann - and ones that councils around the state are looking at very carefully. As the executive officer of the Grampians and Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group, Ms Lehmann sees the big picture as recycling challenges come to a head.
All of these options could be on the table, she believes, as local, state and federal governments grapple with a fundamental shift in the industry. She talked to The Courier as SKM Recycling, the debt-laden company contracted to receive the City of Ballarat's recycled materials, still has its doors shut. The rows of recycling containers stashed in vast warehouses symbolise the system broken by China's decision to dramatically cut its imported recycling.
Receivers for SKM have been appointed and the government has just announced a $10 million loan to help clear the backlog at its facilities, but a solution is far from clear.
For Ms Lehmann, the focus must now be on ensuring there is high quality recycled material that can find a ready market.
It's likely there will be an extra bin. But that is going to be a discussion Ballarat Council has to have with its community as to what people are prepared to accept
- La Vergne Lehmann, Grampians and Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group
One council, the Surf Coast Shire, has just put forward a plan to use up to six bins - one for glass, a container for food organics, and potentially another for paper and cardboard, to go with the three bins they already have. Could Ballarat go down a similar route? For Ms Lehmann, change is certain - although it is likely to vary from place to place. "It's likely there will be an extra bin," she told The Courier. "But that is going to be a discussion Ballarat Council has to have with its community as to what level people are prepared to accept."
FOOD AND ORGANIC WASTE
With recycling constantly in the news at the moment, she suggested that a separate food bin might not be at the top of the agenda, but was "something that needs to be addressed at some point."
Warrnambool and Bendigo councils already have a Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) system, for example, while the City of Ballarat at this stage does not. Last month, the City of Ballarat's described FOGO as "a priority", and that it would "continue to explore the implementation of a program to collect food and organics".
In the meantime, Ms Lehmann pointed to individual acts people could do to cut waste going to landfill - including worm farms and food composting systems.
She is also pushing for more discussion about reducing waste. "What we're talking about with recycling is packaging. Let's not create some of this waste in the first place," she said. "That will reduce some of those issues."
CREATING MARKETS
There are likely to be changes in the types of materials that can be recycled too, she suggested, including cutting the types of plastics that could be accepted. She said momentum was growing to make sure our recycling waste could be reused - for example putting plastic in railway sleepers or using glass in road bases.
"It will be increasingly important looking at developing markets. That's going to be critical going forward so this material doesn't go offshore in the future," she said.
Federal input, too, was a crucial strand, she said, as the control they type of packaging that can be brought into the country - and only through them can materials that are difficult to reuse be cut.
The current challenges may be painful but Ms Lehmann believes, will help fast-track a better, more transparent system where people know what is happening to their recycling.
We will be in a position to advise of a direction in the near future. In the meantime, council will continue to operate its local interim recycling sorting and processing facility
- City of Ballarat's director of infrastructure and environment Terry Demeo
"When I put that recycled plastic yoghurt tub in my recycling bin, we will know it's going somewhere where it will be recycled properly - whether it's another yoghurt tub or another product altogether."
"Change can be difficult. People will accept changes if they are brought along with it, if they know there is a good reason for doing it."
It is an issue with a lot of moving parts. An interim report from the Environment and Planning Committee state inquiry into waste and waste management was published on Tuesday, but has pushed any proposals on the issues relating to SKM's closure to a final report.
The Committee is acutely aware of the significant difficulties being experienced in the recycling industry in Victoria at the moment. In particular, the Committee notes the difficulties currently being experienced across the State as a result of the closure of SKM Recycling. These issues will be dealt with in the final report.
- Environment and Planning Committee interim report
The state government is now bringing forward its thoughts on the circular economy to the end of the year. And the opposition party continues to attack the Daniel Andrews government for its use of the sustainability fund - the so-called bin tax - saying more should have been done to help councils avoid sending materials to landfill.
A BETTER SYSTEM AHEAD?
Meanwhile, the City of Ballarat last week confirmed that recycling options had recently been discussed. While SKM's debt has been taken on by Cleanaway, the council's contract - which clearly is not being serviced at the moment - ends this year anyway.
Rear the Environment and Planning Committee's interim report:
The City of Ballarat's director of infrastructure and environment Terry Demeo said: "We will be in a position to advise of a direction in the near future. In the meantime, council will continue to operate its local interim recycling sorting and processing facility."
It still remains to be seen how much assistance the council will receive for its All-Waste Interchange and the fully fledged Materials Recovery Facility that it hopes to install there.
For Ms Lehmann, who believes the region lacks infrastructure and needs such a facility, the current challenges are worth dealing with head-on and in-depth.
"I think we will end up with a much better system and a much more aware community," she said. "That's actually a really good thing."