TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Regional Development) (16:55): I would like to thank members for all of their contributions to the Environment Legislation Amendment (Circular Economy and Other Matters) Bill 2023. As we saw during the debate in this chamber, there are a lot of good stories and certainly there is a large dose of excitement around about the Allan Labor government’s plan for the circular economy, not least of which is the Victorian container deposit scheme, or the CDS Vic. Since the launch of the Victorian government’s circular economy plan in 2020 the state’s waste and recycling sector has entered a period of dynamic change. The government has used this opportunity to initiate a once-in-a-generation reform across the sector and broaden its bold plans to reduce emissions, reduce waste and create a sustainable future for our children.
As we have heard from a number of people today, I would like to take time to clarify some of the issues that have been put forward. We heard from those opposite that they believe that the rollout of the CDS was, as they described it, chaotic and that it has taken us 10 years to roll out this scheme. I would like to set the record straight here. We have been working hard since 2018 to implement a series of coordinated measures to address the complex issue of waste and recycling. We released the Recycling Industry Strategic Plan that year, a detailed blueprint for a safe, resilient and effective recycling system. In 2020 we released Recycling Victoria: A New Economy, our circular economy plan. With this plan we invested $300 million to overhaul the recycling system. The CDS is one part of our plans to create a sustainable system for our future, and it is only the Allan Labor government that is ensuring that we have a recycling and waste system that is fit for purpose now and for the next generation to come.
We have also heard accusations that due process has not been undertaken prior to the rollout of the scheme and that the operation of these contracts is unclear. To clear this up I can confirm that the contracts are indeed effective. The parties have freely agreed to contracts that they have entered into to administer the CDS, and those contracts are definitely in place. The statutory validation in this bill operates to ensure that the terms of those agreements are enforceable. The bill clarifies authority for matters included in the agreements that are taken to apply and always have applied to the agreements.
We have also heard accusations that there were only 300 sites open on 1 November. I can assure the chamber and I am sure members will be pleased to hear that there were in fact 392 sites that were in operation at the opening of the scheme. And there will be an incredible 600 sites that will be open by August next year, which shows how rapidly we are progressing. I know that members here today will also be glad to hear that there will be up to 15 operational sites in the City of Melbourne LGA by August next year.
I would also like to point out that we are delivering CDS sites for metropolitan Melbourne, our suburbs and our regions. As Minister for Regional Development I am extremely glad to hear that we are focusing on regional and rural areas just as much as our metropolitan areas. I have also heard concerns about the distance between sites in rural areas, and I would like to remind members that regional towns with more than 750 residents and remote towns with more than 300 residents will have at least one refund point when the network is complete by August next year.
Making the scheme as accessible as possible for all Victorians has been one of our main goals from day dot. We have already had an incredible take-up of the CDS in our rural areas. In terms of regional areas, I can give the example of the member for Wendouree in the other place, who visited the new CDS depot in Ballarat. The team there have partnered with the McCallum Disability Services to provide meaningful and stable jobs for locals. They have already processed hundreds of thousands of containers to be recycled, and what a fantastic local story for Victorians.
I would also like to highlight the work of Latrobe Valley Enterprises, who have processed an incredible 115,000 containers in five days alone. What sets Latrobe Valley Enterprises apart is that they accept cans that have been crushed, which I would like to expand on a little bit. There were a number of MPs in the other place who were quite put out by the fact that cans cannot be crushed if they are to be recycled. I am happy to say that you can crush your cans and get a 10-cent refund if you take them to a depot or the over-the-counter recycling centre and the staff can identify the can as eligible under the scheme. As the reverse vending machines have to be able to read the barcode of a can to determine its eligibility, the community is encouraged to keep their cans whole. Those who like to crush their cans will be excited to hear that they can get the best of both worlds; they can crush their cans and get a refund.
There have also been comments about the cost-of-living impact that this scheme will have on the community if drink prices rise to cover the additional costs of the CDS. Costs for collecting and recycling drink containers through CDS Vic are funded by the beverage industry through scheme contributions, and it is expected that these costs will be reflected, similar to what has occurred in other states and territories, when their schemes have commenced. There have also been accusations raised in the other place that the machines do not work and are faulty. I can confirm that there was a very small number of sites that had technical issues, but our fantastic zone operators have been quick to fix them and make sure that Victorians have the best experience possible with our CDS.
I would also remind members that in the first two weeks of the scheme we have seen 7 million containers returned. And hot off the press, I can advise the house that as of yesterday, 15 November, there have been 21.3 million containers deposited. That is an amazing number, I think everyone would agree. And of course that has meant that individual Victorians and Victorian sporting organisations and local community groups have seen $2.1 million back into their pockets. I am sure that everyone would agree that that is significant and has beat our wildest imagination in terms of the success of this fantastic rollout and this fantastic scheme.
We heard from Mr Batchelor about a young constituent who, with the assistance of his parents, has provided a huge number of cans that have been deposited in his electorate. We have also heard from Katie Hall, the member for Footscray, about a constituent – Carol, her name is – who has collected 3000 cans. And in Nick Staikos’s electorate of Bentleigh, Ashton has collected 5000 cans. I have also heard stories from the member for Melton Steve McGhie, who said there is a great crew at the Melton CDS depot who have been working extremely hard for some time and in the first week alone processed over 400,000 containers. Of course I use this as an opportunity to give a great shout-out to Steve, but also the workers at the depot and their partner, the not-for-profit organisation KARI. So again, thank you. Also I can confirm that as of yesterday Tomra Cleanaway, our zone provider in Melbourne’s west, confirmed that they had already collected 10 million containers. Again, what an incredible achievement.
I can also just say, from my own experience on Melbourne Cup Day being in Ararat, I went and had a look at the machine. The car park that it is located in is on the road that goes through Ballarat on the way through to Melbourne, and it was a hive of activity. People were unloading their car boots. They were unloading trailers. They were unloading caravans that had been stored in their sheds that had been piled with cans. Obviously at this time of the year it is important to clear out caravans so that you can actually use them for the purpose that they were originally intended, and that is to go on holiday at some stage. It was great to see how popular it was, and it was also, I have got to say, really powerful to see the gleefulness in the eyes and the activities of the young kids that were helping unload and then load the machines who were anticipating that their pocket money was going to be boosted somewhat as the result of being involved in the activity that day.
Rather than go on about the success of the CDS, I would like to bring us back to what this bill is about today. It is about making sure not only that we have our flagship recycling program financially sustainable in the long term by making sure Recycling Victoria can recover the costs it needs to run the CDS and waste-to-energy scheme but that the burden of recycling our waste should be with the companies creating the waste, and this bill solidifies that point. These amendments are critical to ensuring that we realise the full benefits of the schemes to communities and to the environment, and today we are also considering amendments to the Environment Protection Act 2017 that will keep major polluters accountable and streamline the work done by the EPA. The bill also amends a number of other points that have been covered off by other speakers, and they go to issues pertaining to PSOs, game management officers et cetera. So I will not go into those points at all. They are not controversial, and they are not a point of question for anyone in this chamber or anywhere else.
There was a point that I think Mr Davis had made about the locations of the different recycling points, and what I can say to him is that the list of current locations is available. That will not be an issue at all. But he was also seeking information in terms of the timing and the location of the further rollout of the scheme up to 600 points. I will seek that information, and I take that information on notice, Mr Davis. I am sure that that acquits the undertaking that I have provided to you informally as well.
This is a piece of legislation that this government is incredibly proud of. It acquits a number of things that this government has been pursuing for some time. It is incredibly protective of our environmental system going forward. It talks to industry, it is fit for purpose and of course it is absolutely resonating with many, many Victorians in this state, whether they be young or older. I am sure that there will be a lot of relieved Victorians that are clearing out their spare rooms, garages and sheds who are looking forward to making space or indeed filling them up again so that they can go to the vending machine and get a further 10 cents for every container. It is a great move, and I absolutely applaud everyone that has been involved in the work leading up to today.
Motion agreed to.
Read second time.