Four-bin system set to be enforced in Victoria

The body, which will be a part of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, will oversee the transition of all local councils to the four-bin system by 2030, as well as a container deposit scheme from 2023.

Residents in 13 councils are using four bins - red for rubbish, purple for glass, yellow for paper, plastics and metal and green for organics.

Victorian Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said the new laws would bring uniformity to the state’s recycling sector.

“For too long, we’ve had a sector that has been desegregated, that has been very disjointed, with a whole range of different rules existing across a whole range of different municipalities, making it really hard for Victorians who want to do the right thing in terms of recycling,” she said.

She said she would not be surprised if all councils adopted the new system “much sooner” than 2030.

Ms D'Ambrosio said the new measures would divert up to 650,000 tonnes of organic waste away from landfill, boost Victoria’s economy by up to $6.7 billion by 2030 and create nearly 4000 jobs.

It will also help the state reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, she said.

Victoria committed to a net-zero by 2050 target five years ago and, in 2020, announced it would reduce emissions by 45 to 50 per cent by 2030.

Ms D'Ambrosio took aim at the Federal Government for only committing to net-zero by 2050 on Tuesday, October 26.

“We committed to that five years ago. Yesterday, all we saw was ultimately a reluctant commitment to do the same thing — five years too late,” she said.

“The question that has to be answered and that is incumbent on them to answer and they failed at that yesterday, was to say what their commitment is for 2030. And lo and behold, they fudged that.”

The Federal Government is not moving on its target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per by 2030.