- Published:
- Wednesday 14 February 2024
The Allan Labor Government is building a more sustainable and thriving circular economy with the help of everyday Victorians who are stepping up to reduce waste – with more than 220 million containers already recycled through the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS).
Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos today opened Visy’s upgraded glass recycling facility in Laverton – which will process up to 200,000 tonnes of glass each year, including bottle and glass recycled from the CDS.
Now with the capacity to recycle about 150 glass bottles per Victorian each year - the $50 million upgrade has doubled the facilities glass recycling capacity, delivering 20 new optical sorters that will process glass as small as 3 millimetres in size.
This new facility will recycle materials collected through CDS and the roll out of Victoria’s new kerbside glass bins, transforming used glass into high quality food and beverage containers while improving glass-to-glass recycling capacity across the state.
Victoria’s CDS is currently processing an average of around 10 million cans a week and with 220 million containers processed since the scheme begun – it’s put more than $22 million back in the pockets of Victorians.
Victoria is working to divert 80 per cent of all material away from landfill by 2030 – this will create thousands of new jobs and boost our state’s economy by up to $6.7 billion.
The Labor Government has invested $515 million to transform the Victoria’s waste and recycling system, helping us achieve our target of diverting 80 per cent of all material away from landfill by 2030.
Quote attributable to Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos
“It’s incredible to see so many Victorians getting involved in recycling - returning over 220 million containers to be recycled into new products instead of going to landfill or polluting our precious environment.”
Quote attributable to Visy Chairman Anthony Pratt
“This is an important upgrade for Victoria and Visy on our way to manufacturing new glass bottles and jars made with an average of 70 per cent recycled content.”