PROFILE
Introducing a container deposit scheme could serve as a catalyst to tackle Victoria’s recycling issues.
Is Victoria ready for a CDS? WITH VICTORIA THE ONLY STATE YET TO COMMIT TO A CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEME, WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW SPEAKS WITH INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT SCHEME POTENTIAL.
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n the absence of an overarching waste policy, Victoria’s waste management and resource recovery sector lacks market certainty and centralised oversight. As such, an inconsistent approach to waste management created an environment that may have been more attractive to rogue operators. Challenges arise when bulk processing and limited end markets exist in the same region, as evident in Victoria’s recent spate of noncompliant stockpiles. Mark Smith, Victorian Waste Management Association (VWMA) Executive Officer, says current procurement practices encouraged a concentration of processing capacities, and this inherently concentrated risk. Mark adds that the recent SKM Recycling shut down highlights the risks inherent in any system that doesn’t seek to secure end markets for materials and
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“I believe our current resource recovery issues present an opportunity to change the way government and the private sector operate.” Mark Smith Victorian Waste Management Association Chief Executive
appropriate protocols for any shocks to the system. “A series of events related to how contracts are written, commodity pricing and how businesses establish themselves brought us to where we are now. It’s not something that happened overnight,” Mark says. “I believe our current resource recovery issues present an opportunity to change the way government and the private sector operate which must see the private sector as a partner with the
government in delivering messages and engaging with the public.” Mark adds that the introduction of a Victorian container deposit scheme (CDS) could serve as a catalyst for tackling our current recycling issues, but can’t be done in isolation or on its own. When the Tasmanian Government earlier this year announced it would introduce a CDS by 2023, Victoria became the only state or territory without a scheme forthcoming or in place.
