Putting a pause on kerbside glass recycling

Boroondara is one of 34 councils across Victoria who are calling on the Victorian Government to review the mandatory rollout of a costly fourth bin for glass recycling and instead expand the state’s Container Deposit Scheme.

Our concerns

Independent modelling commissioned on behalf of councils found that introducing an extra glass bin would be expensive to set up and costly to operate each year.

In Boroondara, it is estimated the implementation would cost $6.5 million – with an annual ongoing service cost of approximately $2.2 million (based on an independent analysis in late 2024).

The costs for delivering a fourth glass bin service would need to be recovered through an amendment to the waste charge in the annual rates notice. Collectively, councils have also raised concerns about the extra burden on households to sort their recycling and the space needed to store another bin.

Adding another kerbside collection service would:

• increase truck movements, particularly in narrow suburban streets
• increase congestion and emissions, and
• reduce neighbourhood amenity.

What's the alternative?

We want to see the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) expanded to accept wine and spirits bottles in line with other states in Australia.

The CDS allows people to return eligible empty drink cans, bottles and cartons to refund points in exchange for money and is a proven alternative to introducing a fourth bin.

An expanded scheme would recycle glass effectively without adding new bins, trucks or ongoing costs for households.