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Steven Dennis commented on MR - Environment Minister Invites Queenslanders to 'Cash in on your containers' 2019-01-07 23:46:42 +1100Its a total irresponsible shame that many Victorian towns and cities councils are still continuing to be using general unsorted rubbish bins that mix the contaminated waste with valuable refundable recyclable containers and send it on to landfill never to be separated or recycled. I see on a daily basis recyclable containers thrown in council rubbish bins with soiled nappies, dog dropping bags, rotten or thrown away food waste, maggots and plastic bags tied up full of recycle cans, bottles and plastic container mixed with putrid rubbish and dog droppings in together never to be separated? It is as No one seems to car, including the council about recycling or this would not happen, I would think. Even the few recyclable bins are contaminated with non-recyclable waste. As long as Victoria has no recyclable container refund scheme, people will not separate of value recyclable containers and just mix them up in non-recycle waste rubbish bins destined for disposal at a landfill. I myself as a dedicated recycler really envy the excellent environmental work of neighbouring state South Australia with their 40 years of the container deposit scheme. Victoria is such a dirty polluted un caring state when it come to proper recycling of valuable recyclable containers. The bottles and cans lying everywhere on the sides of roads and highways is a typical example of Victoria’s attitude to recycling. These throw away containers would be value in other states, but not in Victoria. And as long as Victoria fail to join in on a national recyclable container deposit scheme, the councils will and uncaring people will continue to throw away and mix recyclable containers and non-recyclable waste in public rubbish bins. So much lost renewable resources and revenue that some battlers could have made the from 10 cents refund.
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Ask the Victorian Government to implement a world class container deposit scheme
Victoria has now committed to a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) to start by 2023. It needs to be the best scheme maximising recycling; with great convenience for consumers who want to redeem their 10cents; and a credible governance system.
The Boomerang Alliance has joined forces with Victorian community organisations and groups to push for action. The Victorian government originally was defending inaction on CDS with questionable statistics on litter and recycling rates. We took actions to dispel myths, raise awareness and presented the true cost of inaction.NSWs 'Earn and Return' has collected over 5 billion containers in 36 months and increased recycling rates from 35% to over 70% under its ''split responsibility'' model with the independent Coordinator and Network Operator. This is supported by the Victorian government for the state's CDS.
QLDs 'Containers For Change' which operates under the system favoured by Coca Cola has significant problems with inconvenient refund points; alleged fraud; and lower recycling rates. Nevertheless, Coke and Lion have embarked on a campaign to reverse the government's position because they can make a profit from a poorly performing CDS by keeping consumer refunds.
NOW we need to win the battle for a CDS that works best for consumers and recycling.
SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO?-
Sign this letter to Lily D'Ambrosio thanking her for the CDS and maintaining her government's support for the BEST system.
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Sign up to our campaign and join us in clean-ups, media stunts and other actions
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Donate to our campaign
HOW DOES A CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEME WORK?
A container deposit scheme is based on a refundable deposit able to be redeemed by the consumer or collectors at convenient locations. In other words, people get cash for recycling their containers. There are over 40 such systems around the world including in South Australia, the Northern Territory, the ACT, NSW and Queensland. WA, Tasmania and Vic are planning to follow suit in 2020, 2022 and 2023, respectively.Add signatureDear Ms D'Ambrosio,
Thank you for supporting the introduction of a 10 cents refundable deposit on drink bottles and cans in VICTORIA under the split responsibility model.
Victoria is now the LAST state to commit to a container deposit scheme (CDS) but can learn the lessons from other Australian states - and have the best CDS. As your research has shown, the NSW split responsibility model works best and Victoria can adopt its key features for the environment, jobs, convenient access for refunds and charities.
We support you rejecting the weak approach proposed by the big beverage companies, Coke and Lion.
A best practice CDS can help with the recycling crisis, as it produces reliable streams of sorted, uncontaminated materials that are of higher value and can underpin a local recycling industry.
Please keep me in touch with your work on scheme design.
Yours sincerely,
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