Will Victoria's fourth bin help the state reach its recycling goals? Wellington Shire isn't convinced

Rate increases and community service cuts are likely for Wellington Shire residents if the state government’s mandatory purple bin rollout proceeds, councillors have warned.

Under the Circular Economy Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2021, the state government mandated that councils implement a home glass bin service from July 1, 2027. This would mean residents would have four bins - one each for general waste, green waste, glass and non-glass recyclables.

The scheme aims to further Victoria's goal of diverting 80 percent of all material away from landfill by 2030 as part of the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021.

According to the state government, 4.5 million tonnes of residential waste went to landfill in 2022-23. The government predicts that residual waste will increase to nearly nine million tonnes per year by 2053.

The 120L glass bin will be collected monthly and be mandatory for residents within the council's collection boundaries. The bins will be optional for businesses and commercial buildings.

Councillor Liz Foat put forward a motion that sought backing for council to write to the state Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos to reconsider the new glass bin program. She said she was opposed to the scheme due to "financial, spatial and practical implications for our community”.

Foat said there would be a "significant financial burden this initiative imposes on our community” and questioned how much more effective the new bins would be over the Container Deposit Scheme.

Wellington Shire council told the Gippsland Monitor it anticipates the cost of glass bin collection and transport would be about $500,000 a year, with additional processing fees.

It said the cost “will appear as an increase to the waste service charge on rates notices”.

Under the current Container Deposit Scheme, Wellington Shire residents are able to take glass drinking bottles to drop off points run by contractor Return-It and receive a 10 cent refund. The refund is not available for all glass products.

But the Container Deposit Scheme has faced its own issues, including network connectivity, which impacts the ability to process containers; vandalism of container deposit points; theft of stored containers; and complaints regarding the scheme's functionality.

Wellington Shire council says “unless major changes are implemented - such as additional state government funding allocated to address these widespread issues - Council’s contractor has indicated they will no longer be participating in the scheme”.

Wellington Shire said the Container Deposit Scheme was still operating, but that some of the over the counter drop off points had closed since the scheme began.

Deputy Mayor, Cindy Madeley, said the “financial implications are substantial” and that implementation and ongoing costs could divert funds from community services.

She said the existing container deposit scheme operating in Wellington Shire had “demonstrated efficacy in glass recovery, suggesting that its expansion could achieve similar environmental benefits without the added strain on households”, and that regional councils face more logistical challenges implementing a fourth bin.

Foat’s motion was carried.