Thursday, 4 May 2023

Waste and recycling management

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:08): (123) My second question is also to the Minister for Environment. Minister, I refer to the government’s circular cycle recycling scheme and the business case produced by the government for glass recycling and the fourth bin. Will the government immediately release the business case, and if not, why not?

Ingrid Stitt: President, if you could just indulge me, I did not quite catch the whole question from Mr Davis. Is it possible for him –

The PRESIDENT: Yes. Mr Davis, could you repeat the question, please?

David DAVIS: Minister, I refer to the government’s circular cycle recycling scheme and the business case produced by the government for glass recycling and the fourth bin. Will the government immediately release the business case, and if not, why not?

Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep, Minister for Environment) (12:09): I thank Mr Davis for that question. Of course this is a really important part of our overhaul of waste and recycling in Victoria. We are in the process of rolling out, with the cooperation of councils across the state, the fourth bin. A $129 million support package is in place for councils to assist them with getting ready for the infrastructure that will be required for the rollout of the fourth glass bin.

The driving reason for including a fourth bin is to make sure that we are capturing the value of the glass that is separated out from other recycling products in Victoria. Those glass recyclable products do have a high value, and this is something that the recycling industry, all the key players in that sector, were very keen to ensure was part of our overhaul of waste and recycling – to separate out that glass so that there is less contamination and they can capture the value of the product a lot easier.

We have taken advice from our department in terms of what the best way is to restructure our waste and recycling and build that circularity with the Victorian waste and recycling economy, and we actually stand by the advice that we have received in relation to separation of glass. Mr Davis, I know, often asks for various things in this place, but there is a publicly available comprehensive policy around our circular economy, which if he does a few basic Google searches, he will be able to have access to.

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:11): I would just note that whilst the minister sort of talked in general she did not actually answer the direct question of whether the business case will be released, and I therefore ask: isn’t the fact that you have refused to release the business case an indication that the business case shows the recycling charge on ratepayers’ notices would have to increase by more than $100 annually?

Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep, Minister for Environment) (12:12): Mr Davis is back to his usual tricks of kind of conflating a whole range of different issues into a convenient ‘world according to Mr Davis’ narrative. The reality is that we have got a really strong policy setting here for the overhaul of our waste and recycling systems in Victoria. This is something that industry are right behind, and they are investing in upgraded Victorian recycling facilities right across the state. This is something that we are incredibly proud of. Investing $515 million towards making sure that 80 per cent of landfill is avoided by 2030 is a really important policy objective to have because it is all about not only protecting our precious environment but doing the right thing by our citizens.