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Yarra Ranges Council is joining other Councils from around Victoria to call for more investment in recycling from the State and Federal Governments.

The Municipal Association of Victoria, which represents all Victorian Councils, recently launched its Rescue our Recycling campaign, calling for all levels of government to intervene in the ongoing recycling crisis.

Yarra Ranges Mayor, Tony Stevenson, said while recyclable material was collected in the Yarra Ranges by VISY and processed, the recycling industry was in dire need of help.

“Even though we’ve been able to weather some of the recent impacts to the recycling industry – such as one of the state’s major recycling companies briefly suspending operations – there’s no doubt that serious change needs to happen to keep the future of our recycling industry sustainable,” Cr Stevenson said.

“Our recycling provider, VISY, sends a majority of the recyclables collected to Australian markets, so materials can be re-used here, and others to Indonesia to be purchased and used by manufacturers there.

“They’ve also brought ethical processes in place to ensure that any recyclables sent overseas are managed appropriately.

“The simple fact is that the current Australian market can’t sustain the amount of recyclables we’re producing which is why recyclables end up overseas.

Some of the materials produced from recycled products are not classified as food grade, therefore new materials are required for some packaging.

“What’s clear is we need changes from every level of Government and the community to solve this and other problems the industry is facing.”

Cr Stevenson encouraged residents to continue recycling as much as possible, and to look at ways to reduce the amount of rubbish they generate at home.

“It’s clear that one of the easiest ways to reduce the strain on the industry is, wherever possible, look at reducing, reusing and recycling – in that order,” he said.

“That can be reducing the amount of waste we generate by buying less items with lots of packaging – especially soft plastics – looking at reusable items like coffee cups, and recycling as much as we can.”