The Victorian Greens have slammed the Andrews Government as negligent for its complete failure on policy, investment and leadership when it comes to recycling and waste management, after the Victorian Auditor General today released a damming report on the Victorian Government’s ‘Recovering and Reprocessing Resources from Waste’.
As stated by Samantha Ratnam, Victorian Greens Leader and Greens Acting Spokesperson for the Environment:
“The Auditor General has clearly pointed the finger at the Labor Government for the waste and recycling crisis we now face.”
“The terrible, polluting fires from recycling stockpiles could have been prevented with proper leadership from the Andrews Government, who knew about the changes in the international market as early as 2013. If they had invested in the recycling infrastructure we need locally and with better scrutiny by the EPA we could have avoided this disastrous situation.”
“The Audit report is damming, highlighting a complete lack of concern and leadership about the impending crisis due to China and other countries refusing to take our waste. The Andrews Government been asleep at the wheel and now we are faced with a deepening crisis across the community.”
“The fact that Victoria has had no overarching waste policy since 2014 and no targets for better recycling and food waste recovery means that we have failed to make adequate progress in improving these areas. It’s our rivers, oceans, our marine life and our communities that are suffering as a result.”
“We need urgent leadership right now. There is no need to wait for Infrastructure Victoria to report. The Andrews Government can ban single use plastics, introduce cash for containers and announce strong targets for recycling and composting rates, as has been done across Europe.”
“The Labor Government must utilise the $500 million Sustainability Fund for its stated purpose of better waste management, not to prop up the state budget. The money must be invested in our local, job creating recycling industry and be matched with targets for use of recycled materials in locally made products.”
