Metropolitan Waste and Resource Strategic Plan released

The Brumby government has released the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Strategic Plan. Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings said the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Strategic Plan provides the basis for the Victorian and local governments to work together to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and pursue new waste technologies which can turn household waste into renewable energy and products like compost.

“The plan examines Melbourne’s waste and resource recovery needs for the next two decades and beyond, and has identified municipal waste, particularly food and garden waste, as priorities if we are to meet our Towards Zero Waste Strategy targets,” Jennings said.

“Sending valuable resources, such as organic waste, to landfill is a lost opportunity for the environment and the economy. In landfill, organic wastes decompose and produce methane — a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The plan aims to recover that waste and use it for productive purposes.

“Our population is growing and so is the amount of waste we produce. Melbournians have been great recyclers but we are going to need to more than double the amount of waste we recover, recycle and reprocess to meet our Towards Zero Waste Strategy targets of recovering 65% of municipal waste by 2014.

“As well as taking action to tackle climate change, the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Strategic Plan will reduce the need to develop landfills in the future.

“The Brumby government’s allocation of $10 million for the Victorian Advanced Resource Recovery Initiative to create a business case for development of new advanced waste facilities is the first step in implementing the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Strategic Plan.

“Local governments will play an essential role in reducing waste to landfill and establishing new waste facilities to make productive use of household waste. The Brumby government will work closely with councils, which have ultimate responsibility for municipal waste management.

“While the plan shows the commercial, industrial, construction and demolition sectors have been tracking well against Towards Zero Waste targets so far, we will also continue to work with the commercial and industrial waste industry to help make Victoria a centre for investment and job creation in the waste industry.”

Other elements of the plan include the ‘Municipal Solid Waste Infrastructure Schedule’ — which sets out a schedule of existing and required infrastructure for municipal solid waste — and the ‘Metropolitan Landfill Schedule’, which identifies potential future landfill sites.

The Metropolitan Resource Recovery Strategic Plan is available at www.sustainability.vic.gov.au.