Victorian councils intensify pushback against mandatory glass bin rollout

A increasing conjugation of Victorian councils is ramping up absorption to the state government’s planned four-bin recycling system, warning the mandatory rollout of abstracted purple solid bins could enforce millions of dollars successful other costs connected residents already grappling with cost-of-living pressures.

Speaking to Neos Kosmos, Manningham Mayor Jim Grivas said 34 councils person united to telephone for a intermission connected the scheme, arguing there are much effectual and affordable alternatives to amended recycling outcomes.

Grivas said there are aggregate issues they person with the scheme.

“One is that we’re going to person much bins successful our yard. We’re going to person much traffic, some much trucks connected the road. We’re going to person much imaginable contamination. But the biggest 1 is there’s much cost.”

Under the Victorian government’s waste betterment program, councils are expected to determination to a four-bin household system, including a dedicated solid recycling bin. But galore section governments accidental the fiscal load of introducing the work is too high.

Grivas said the outgo of implementing the work crossed the 34 councils opposing the rollout would total astir $150 million.

“For the residents for Manningham, it’s $4.2 cardinal to instrumentality and $1.4 cardinal each year aft that,” helium said.

“It’s a outgo load backmost connected the residents, which is something that we don’t want arsenic councillors.”

Independent economical modelling conducted successful 2025 recovered introducing a glass-only kerbside work would outgo a typical assembly astir $4 cardinal to establish, with households paying an mean of $27 much each year for ongoing postulation and processing.

“It makes it hard successful these economical times for our residents to try and marque those costs,” helium said.

The councils are present seeking meetings with Victorian Minister for Environment Enver Erdogan, Minister for Local Government Paul Hamer, and Minister for Cost of Living Paul Edbrooke.

Grivas said councils wanted the state authorities to supply economical modelling and feasibility studies supporting the instauration of abstracted solid bins.

“We’d similar the ministers to supply us with the reports, the feasibility study connected the economical payment for having a abstracted solid bin. We don’t judge there is one,” helium said.

“So if they tin supply that to us, that would beryllium great.”

Instead, councils are pushing for an enlargement of Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS), arguing it would retrieve much solid while reducing costs and avoiding the request for different household bin.

“If the authorities truly wants to beryllium superior astir this, the instrumentality deposit strategy is astir apt the champion way to go,” Grivas said.

The politician besides pointed to existing councils already operating solid bins, claiming information rates person been little than expected.

“The 5 councils who are moving the bins already, lone 17 per cent of those bins are afloat and taken retired connected a monthly basis,” helium said.

Residents person besides begun voicing frustrations with the system.

George Georgiou, who lives successful Merri-bek, said his household seldom uses the purple solid bin due to the fact that astir recyclable containers are either returned done the CDS oregon reused astatine home.

“We’ve had it for a while present and I tin tell you I tin number connected 1 manus however galore times I’ve taken that bin retired to get collected,” Georgiou said.

“It’s ne'er truly been full. Glass soft portion bottles, my kids take them for the CDS. Glass jars, well my aged antheral has olive trees, we’ll reuse them for storing those oregon different stuff.”

“It should each conscionable spell successful the 1 recycling bin similar it used to successful my opinion.”

“It’s different state authorities tax, it’s a purple bin tax if you want to telephone it that due to the fact that that’s technically what it is” – Grivas. Photo: Supplied

Grivas said reuse practices were communal successful galore migrant households, peculiarly among Greek and broader European communities.

“That’s the quality astir being of Greek and European background, we emotion doing that,” helium said.

“We emotion our solid jars and recycling successful such a way that we tin use it and payment the assemblage and payment the situation from that.”

The Manningham politician went further, labelling the argumentation a “purple bin tax” – different state authorities tax.

Councils are present encouraging residents to person their accidental done a assemblage survey.

Manningham Council has launched their online consultation campaign, recovered by looking up “Let’s Be Clear connected Glass Recycling” connected their website, with Grivas claiming thousands of radical had already responded.

“We’ve person astir 10,000 radical present responding, saying we don’t want the solid bin and we want to grow the instrumentality deposit scheme,” helium said.

“So 86 per cent of radical saying we don’t want the bin.”

Grivas said councils were not calling for the argumentation to beryllium scrapped entirely, but wanted the state authorities to intermission the rollout and work much intimately with section authorities connected alternatives.

“Let each assembly marque a determination connected whether we want to rotation retired their bin oregon not,” helium said.

“We don’t want the state authorities to tell us what to do. Our residents wage their rates for a crushed and that’s for us to marque decisions.

“That $4.2 cardinal tin spell retired to somewhere other and tally different programs.

“The authorities truly request to sit down with us arsenic councils and inquire what’s the amended way of doing this? Let’s intermission this program. We’re not saying stop it. Let’s intermission it. Let’s find the champion way guardant and payment each the community.”