Alpine Shire Council has joined a growing group of Victorian councils actively advocating to the Victorian government to postpone mandatory implementation for councils to provide a glass only bin service to households. Currently, as part of the Recycling Victoria (RV) policy released in 2020, the government requires all councils to provide a separate glass-only recycling service by 1 July 2027, removing glass from the comingled recycling bin. The group of 32 councils is advocating to the government to delay the implementation date for the glass-only bin, as their research has found there are limited benefits for a glass-only service in comparison to the implementation costs for ratepayers. Alpine Shire Mayor, Councillor Sarah Nicholas, said postponing the implementation date for the glass only bin would provide councils more time to work with the government and find a way forward that maximises recycling efforts, but minimises the financial impact on local communities. "In our case, the cost impact would be significant; the initial roll out of the separate glass kerbside collection service will cost council approximately $460,000 for bin infrastructure, delivery of bins and educational materials," Cr Nicholas said. "This will see a one-off increase in the waste management charge of $72 in the year that the service is rolled out. "Additionally, there will be an ongoing servicing cost to council for the collection and processing of glass kerbside of approximately $327,000 per year, which will result in an annual kerbside collection fee increase to each residential property of $51." Cr Nicholas said council supported the government's position on the introduction of the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) due to the reduced landfill volume and greenhouse gas emissions associated with processing FOGO. "Our communities have embraced the introduction of FOGO bins, and I think it's been a great success; almost two years in we're already seeing environmental benefits in the Alpine Shire," she said. "The same environmental benefits, however, are not evident in separation of glass from the comingled recycling stream." Research undertaken by the group of councils also showed that expanding the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) to include wine and spirit bottles would have similar circularity benefits to a glass only bin, cause less contamination and would remove the need for millions of dollars of implementation costs for councils. "Expanding the CDS program offers the same environmental benefits as kerbside glass collection, but at a lower cost to councils and the community," Cr Nicholas said. "By building on existing infrastructure and a service the public already uses well, we can reduce the need for extra investment, resources and education." Furthermore, the Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where Alpine Shire's comingled recycling is taken for sorting, is in Albury and governed by the NSW requirements, meaning it will continue to accept glass in the comingled recycling stream. Cr Nicholas said this defeats the purpose of residents separating their glass from other recycling in the first place. "Since both mixed recycling and glass are collected together in our MRF, glass will still end up in the mixed recycling," she said. "This means separating glass doesn’t actually help the environment by making recycling more valuable; in fact, it could have a negative environment impact by adding thousands of new plastic bins and another truck to the collection routes." The councils are asking for the government to listen to these concerns and delay the mandatory implementation date, so alternative options which already exist, such as the CDS, can be appropriately considered before forcing the implementation of a fourth kerbside glass recycling bin and exorbitant costs on to the community. "We stand in partnership with the 31 fellow Victorian councils seeking to extend the implementation date," Cr Nicholas said.
