Six bins proposed as way out of recycling crisis

Victorian households would get up to six bins to better sort their recycling as part of a proposed solution to the state’s ongoing waste crisis, reported The Age recently.

The radical proposal is among a series of ideas contained in an interim report by Infrastructure Victoria to prevent tonnes of recycling being sent to landfill.

However, the proposal could prove divisive with a key waste group arguing community education is a better way to reduce contamination in recycling.

Over the past 18 years, the amount of waste that Victorians have produced has doubled, rising from 7.4 million tonnes in 2000 to 13.4 million tonnes in 2018.

The Andrews government commissioned Infrastructure Victoria to reform the state’s waste system after the disastrous collapse of recycling giant SKM.

The company’s closure sent the recycling system into chaos and resulted in thousands of tonnes of recycling being sent to landfill. The catastrophe forced a major rethink of Victoria’s recycling system.

Infrastructure Victoria’s interim report said contaminated material was corrupting recycling streams and better separation of waste was required.