People in Brunswick have told me they want a recycling industry that protects our environment, keeps plastics out of our rivers and oceans and creates sustainable, green jobs.

Let’s be clear, Victoria faces a waste crisis. Recycling is being stockpiled, or worse – dumped in landfill.

‘Our plan builds a local industry, creating local jobs and leads Australia in transforming waste, not trashing it.’

Our plan:

• Build a plastic recycling plant here in Victoria
• Ban unnecessary single-use plastics, like plastic on fruit and veggies
• Allow everyone to put their food scraps in their green bins, so they’re turned into compost
• Make roads and playgrounds from recycled materials
• Stop toxic waste incinerators, which harm our health and create pollution and toxic ash

Fixing this issue requires leadership

In February 2020 the State Government announced their 'circular economy' paper, including many policies that we have been fighting for, such as investment in the local industry, household glass bins, container deposit scheme and food waste collection. But some of these are almost a decade away, we can't wait for solutions any longer. The state government is also supporting waste incineration, a polluting and outdated technology that creates toxic ash. 

We have solutions

While seeing progress to help fix our waste crisis is fantastic there is much we need to do. Bring forward the recently announced container deposit scheme, glass collection and composting all household food waste. We could also ban all unnecessary single-use plastics, mandate a percentage of recycled material in all new and government purchased products (like building all new roads from recycled material).