New recycling laws and governance

The Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021(opens in a new window) provides for strengthened regulation and oversight of the state’s waste and recycling sector. It includes laws to underpin the new container deposit scheme and new statewide, four-stream household waste and recycling system.

It provides the foundation for Victoria’s transition to a sustainable and thriving circular economy, to minimise waste and landfill, and significantly increase reuse and recycling of our precious resources

The Act will see establishment on 1 July 2022 of Recycling Victoria, a dedicated government business unit with distinct legislative functions to oversee and provide strategic leadership for the waste and recycling sector.

The Act and the establishment of Recycling Victoria are key components of  the Victorian Government’s $380 million circular economy plan, Recycling Victoria: a new economy, to reduce waste and landfill for more and better recycling and a sustainable and thriving circular economy.

The Act enables better and more recycling, recovery and reuse of our precious resources, less waste in landfill, and a recycling system that Victorians can rely on. 

It provides for Victoria’s new container deposit scheme which will increase recycling of drink containers into new products, reduce litter, create new jobs and provide opportunities for community organisations to raise funds.

When it comes to household recycling, local councils remain the key service provider for Victorians.

The Act enables regulation of the waste and recycling sector for more and better recycling.

It formalises access for Victorian households to the four-stream waste and recycling system that includes a separate glass service by 2027 and food organics and garden organics by 2030.

It also provides for the future mandated sorting of waste materials by businesses and creates powers for data collection and reporting.

The Act sets out a comprehensive, consistent, and enforceable approach to oversee and support the delivery of waste, recycling and resource recovery services across Victoria.

The Act's content was informed by community and industry input via a series of consultations in 2019 and 2020 on the development of Victoria’s circular economy policy, Recycling Victoria: A new economy, and further industry and community consultation on options for a new waste Act and authority and the container deposit scheme.

For further information:

• Circular economy consultation
• Container deposit scheme consultation
• Waste Act and waste authority consultation

Recycling Victoria will be a dedicated business unit within the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), that will start 1 July 2022 and provide strategic leadership for the waste and recycling sector.

Recycling Victoria will be provided with distinct functions and powers, including to regulate waste and recycling services, oversee the container deposit scheme, gather data and report on the state of the market, and support the development of Victoria’s circular economy.

It will have a strong regional focus and a presence across the state.

The Government will develop regulations and standards to support the operation of the Act. These will be developed in consultation with councils, alpine resorts, the waste and resource recovery industry, peak bodies and the wider community.

The Victorian Government continues to develop additional reforms that may require further legislative change, including enhanced state-wide infrastructure planning and a cap on thermal waste to energy processing in Victoria.

The Victorian waste to energy framework outlines how the waste to energy cap will work and how it will be implemented in legislation. It is anticipated that legislation will be introduced into Parliament in mid-2022.

The Victorian Government’s transformative circular economy policy and plan, Recycling Victoria: a new economy, is building a sustainable and thriving circular economy for Victoria.