In a bid to improve recycling rates, the Victorian Government has announced a new half-billion dollar recycling reform. As part of the reform, millions of Victorians will soon gain a fourth wheelie bin.
The new bin, which will be dedicated to glass recycling, will be delivered to households across Victoria. The move is expected to increase Victoria’s recycling rate by up to 10 per cent.
The state government is running a $515 million program that will involve a purple bin designated for glass, in addition to red, green, and yellow counterparts.
Victoria currently has one of the lowest recycling rates in Australia, with only 35 per cent of household waste being recycled. The state government is hoping that the new glass recycling bin will help to increase this figure.
Glass is one of the most commonly-recycled materials, but it can be difficult to recycle due to contamination from other materials such as food and paper. The new glass recycling bin will help to reduce contamination, making it easier for recyclers to process glass waste.
Soft plastics, wrappers, and soiled food containers will be placed in the yellow bins for recycling.
Presently, comparable materials can’t be recycled at home and must be brought to supermarkets instead.
All four bins have already been introduced in seven areas in regional Victoria and Melbourne’s outer suburbs, with Frankston set to join in 2023.
In an effort to avoid contamination, plastic bags, wrappers, and soiled food containers will go into the yellow bin, while glass will go into a new purple bin.
The green bin is for food and garden organics and the red bin is for household waste.
The state government is confident that the new initiatives will help to increase Victoria’s recycling rate to 60 per cent by 2030.
