Greens' deposit scheme binned by Vic govt
The Greens have a plan to help dig Victoria out of it's recycling hole, by introducing a container deposit scheme, but the government has been quick to trash the idea.
The state is currently the only Australian jurisdiction not to offer such a program, and the minor party leader, Samantha Ratnam, on Thursday said it is time for action.
"There is no excuse to delay the introduction of this important piece of the puzzle to fix our recycling crisis," she said, announcing plans to introduce a bill to state parliament this month for a 10-cent refund on bottles and cans.
"We need a refund on bottles and cans scheme. This is the first step in fixing our waste crisis."
Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said such a scheme was not on the government's agenda.
"We've been very clear about continuing to monitor the rollout of CD schemes in other states," she told ABC radio.
"Right now though, our focus is on developing the markets and the products that do use recyclable materials so we do have a demand for it."
Parliamentary number-crunchers have done sums and calculated the Greens' proposed scheme would cost taxpayers about $9 million over three years, while raising more than $244 million over the same period - largely from uncollected deposits.
"We know from our neighbours that refund schemes for bottles and cans work and yet the government continues to delay action and allow the increased pollution of our rivers and oceans," Ms Ratnam said.
The squeeze on recycling is particularly acute in Victoria where major processor SKM has gone into liquidation, forcing several councils to send material to landfill.
The state Labor government insists it is formulating a plan, but will not produce a quick-fix and, in the meantime, is reconsidering the landfill waste levy to offer councils some relief.
