New landfill levies a huge boost for recycling

Environment Victoria has congratulated the Brumby government on setting new landfill levies that will increase recycling and congratulated Opposition parties on supporting the passage of the new levies through State Parliament.

The proposed changes to the landfill levy were passed by the Legislative Council today. The levy for dumping a tonne of waste at a metropolitan waste facility will rise from current rates of $9 per tonne to $30 tonne next financial year, with further increases in following years. This will bring Victoria closer to the landfill levy in other states such as NSW, and will make recycling more economic.

Environment Victoria CEO Kelly O’Shanassy said today: “It's fantastic to see cooperation in the Parliament to support strong new laws that will drive recycling and re-use and create thousands of green jobs. We congratulate Minister Jennings and the Brumby government, as well as the Coalition and Greens for making these laws a reality. It's been rare that we get cross-Parliamentary support for major environmental reforms. We hope to see the cooperation on this issue applied to other environmental issues in the months ahead.

“The increased landfill levy will help Victorians achieve higher rates of recycling and keep valuable materials out of landfill. This in turn reduces greenhouse emissions and creates jobs in resource recovery and recycling.”