Why we have so many bins, but are recycling less than ever
Households are now being provided up to four bins to curb waste but in reality we’re recycling less than ever. Here’s why.
VIC News
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Households will not be able to recycle as much plastic waste despite being given four bins.
Plastic sauce bottles, margarine containers and ice cream tubs, which all used to be recycled, now have to be binned with regular rubbish.
The problem has been identified in Melbourne’s west, and there are fears a four-bin system being rolled out statewide could be derailed.
Hobsons Bay Council, among the first to introduce four bins, is advising residents that many types of plastic — also including takeaway coffee cups, milk cartons, juice containers and meat packets — must be thrown out
The plastics and coated papers used to go into recycling bins for recycling offshore, but there is now no demand overseas or locally.
Hobsons Bay Council and recycling services were looking for ways to fix the problem, which affects material with numerical codings of three to seven.
The Sunday Herald Sun understands the state government will likely encounter the same problem with its newly-announced waste overhaul, which mandates that all households by 2030 have a fourth glass-only recycling bin with a purple lid.
Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the government was looking to have the same rules statewide about what could and couldn’t be recycled.
Its plan also included $96.5 million to drive expansion and innovation in the local recycling industry.
“In order to make things easier for households, and to ensure recycling products are used and re-used by industry, we will standardise the materials that go in each bin across councils,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
Victorian Waste Management Association chief Peter Anderson warned the four-bin system wasn’t going to cure the state’s waste woes, declaring residents would “have to be a bloody engineer or a scientist to know what you can or can’t recycle”.
“What we’re going to do with plastic comes down to policy,” Mr Anderson said.
“We can’t suddenly make markets appear in the economy if no one’s going to use it.”
“We believe there should be a process in place to ensure those people who buy recycled goods are given incentives — not those who make it.”
Contractors are checking bins put out for collection in Hobsons Bay, leaving stickers and letters for residents who’ve wrongly sorted their rubbish.
From this month those still making mistakes will have to wait another week for their bins to be emptied.
Mayor Colleen Gates told the Sunday Herald Sun: “Hobsons Bay residents have started playing a key role in reducing waste volumes going to landfill and are taking ownership of the waste generated in their homes, with many even motivated to change their purchasing decisions.”
“Last year, when SKM closed its doors, rather than waiting for someone else to solve the problem, we introduced a new system with better outcomes in cost, sustainability and local employment,’’ Cr Gates said.
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