Victoria’s Minister for Local Government Adem Somyurek has issued a state-wide exemption for local councils to remove the administrative barriers to extend their recycling collection contracts to June 2021.
The move is said to help local councils deliver better, more sustainable kerbside collection services to their communities.
“We’re removing administrative barriers so councils can focus on improving their recycling contracts and delivering the recycling services their communities need,” Minister Somyurek said.
“Scaling up and co-operation is part of the solution to the problems that we have faced in the recycling sector.”
Councils will be able to continue with existing services while they work together to develop contracts that support the delivery of larger recycling volumes – the economies of scale needed to encourage investment in infrastructure and attract new entrants to the Victorian recycling sector.
The future shared contracting of recycling services across multiple municipalities will help local councils save money in management and procurement costs.
Attracting more operators into the market is also set to help lift the standard of waste collection operators and reduce service costs by driving competition.
The Victorian Budget 2019/20 is investing an additional $35 million to strengthen and diversify Victoria’s waste and recycling industry.
This latest package builds on the $37 million Recycling Industry Strategic Plan, released in July 2018 – bringing the Labor Government’s investment in the waste and resource recovery industry to more than $135 million.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio said more collaboration and stronger contracts are crucial to addressing the challenges facing our recycling sector.
“This is an important step in the reforms we’re making to strengthen recycling in Victoria,” D’Ambrosio said.
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