News and updates

16 April 2025

Recycling Victoria has published the Strategic Procurement Framework.

The framework sets out Recycling Victoria’s role in supporting councils and Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV).

This includes developing guidance, case studies and templates for the different stages of a procurement and coordinating opportunities for councils and ARV to share knowledge, insights and lessons learned to support best practice and help build capability.

For more information about the Strategic Procurement Framework, you can contact Recycling Victoria’s Strategic Procurement team via rvstrategicprocurement@deeca.vic.gov.au

14 April 2025

A report into the impact of Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS Vic) on beverage consumption and prices has found prices of eligible alcoholic drinks in Victoria increased by an average of 3.6 cents and eligible non-alcoholic drinks by an average of 9.1 cents, which is less than the 10-cent refund.

This increase is consistent with first year results for NSW and QLD schemes.

The Impact of Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme on beverage prices and consumption report analysed beverage price and consumption activity across the state from November 2022 to November 2024.

The review included monitoring the price and consumption activity of major retail outlets in the year before the introduction of CDS Vic and throughout the first year of operation.

CDS Vic is a product stewardship scheme, which means beverage companies take ownership of the product through to waste recovery, including through the payment for a 10-cent refund for each container and the operating costs of the scheme, through a scheme contribution fee.

The Scheme Co-ordinator, Vic Return, determines the scheme contribution fee and sets the scheme pricing, which is paid by beverage companies.

This contribution fee is based on the number of containers supplied into Victoria by a beverage manufacturer and their material type.

Beverage pricing is a matter for the beverage industry. Recycling Victoria has leadership responsibility for the scheme oversight, regulation and administration.

Recycling Victoria will continue monitoring beverage prices into 2025 following the container price increase on 1 February 2025 (an average container price rise from 11.18 cents to 14.7 cents, both excluding GST.)

Victorians are encouraged to shop around for the best product price and return their containers to a CDS Vic site so they can claim the 10-cent refund.

CDS Vic is an important part of building Victoria’s circular economy and means beverage suppliers are playing their part in helping to improve recycling rates and material recovery, as well as reducing the number of containers that end up as litter or in landfill.

The report can be viewed on Recycling Victoria’s website.

1 April 2025

Our executive team was pleased to spend time in Gippsland yesterday meeting with local councils to gain insight into the issues and opportunities facing local government and the waste, recycling and resource recovery sector.

It was great to gather at the Morwell Innovation Centre and hear first-hand local perspectives relating to circular economy projects, resource management priorities and opportunities of importance to the region.

A big thank you to Bass Coast Shire Council, Baw Baw Shire Council, East Gippsland Shire Council, Latrobe City Council, South Gippsland Shire Council, Wellington Shire Council for taking time to connect and share insights with us.

Recycling Victoria is pleased to release its latest Circular Economy Market Report (CEMR 2025).

The report was launched by the Minister for the Environment Steve Dimopolous at the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association forum on 25 March 2025.

Victoria is the first state or territory to report against the new circular economy measures in Australia’s Circular Economy Framework released in December last year.

New metrics to measure circular economy performance

The CEMR 2025 identified that Victoria performed better than the national figure across all new 3 Australian circular economy measures.

The adoption of the 3 new measures (circularity rate, material footprint and material productivity) also meets a commitment made in last year’s CEMR and the Recycling Victoria – a new economy policy, to include new circular economy metrics that best monitor and measure Victoria’s material circularity.

Victoria currently recovers approximately 70% of waste. This material contributes to the circularity rate.

The new measures will help government and industry better understand how much recycled materials we put back into the economy and how much value Victoria gets out of the material it uses.  

$1.8 billion of material circulated back into the economy

The CEMR 2025 includes information on the generation, collection, sorting and re-processing of waste within the circular economy market.

A more circular economy supports higher economic growth and material productivity. In 2022−23 Victoria recovered and circulated about $1.8 billion worth of materials back into the economy and created more than 13,000 jobs in the sector. This is a good start, but there is still a long way to go to maximise the economic benefits of a circular economy.

69% of material recovered

The CEMR 2025 reports on waste generation per capita and recovery rate against Victorian Government targets:

• Victoria generated a total of 14.5 million tonnes of material in 2022–2023, with 9.9 million tonnes recovered for reprocessing, which resulted in a state-wide recovery rate of 69%.
• Per person, Victoria generated 2.2 tonnes of waste. 

Insights into growing a stronger circular economy

Key insights from the 2022-23 data indicate:

• a steady performance in the construction and demolition sector
• a positive trend in municipal solid waste recovery
• challenges in maintaining or improving recovery rates in the commercial and industrial sector.

Further insights show Victoria’s circular economy market continues to face challenges in recycling textiles, plastics and organics from businesses.

By making small changes in our daily lives, like recycling more and reusing items, we can help increase circularity for Victoria and do our bit to grow a stronger circular economy, with more jobs, and a cleaner environment

Find out more on our website: https://www.vic.gov.au/circular-economy-market-report

12 February 2025

Expressions of interest (EOI) applications are invited from applicants wishing to apply for a waste to energy cap licence.

EOI applications are open to new operators as well as existing operators who wish to increase the volume of permitted waste processed by their facility.

A cap licence will allow a waste to energy facility operator to process permitted waste up to a specified maximum amount at their facility.

The cap on permitted waste that is treated in thermal waste to energy processes will ensure investment in waste to energy facilities does not compromise current and future investment in Victoria’s efforts to avoid, reuse and recycle more waste.

Recycling Victoria regulates the market-related aspects of thermal waste to energy processes under the Waste to Energy Scheme. Recycling Victoria licenses operators to ensure they use only specific amounts and types of waste that would otherwise be destined to landfill.

Facilities will still require approvals from other regulators, such as the Environment Protection Authority Victoria and planning approvals.

EOI applications close on 17 February 2025.

For more information on how submit an EOI visit our website: https://www.vic.gov.au/waste-energy-scheme.