Waste and recycling are a part of everyone’s daily life. How we manage our waste is important to ensuring the long term liveability and sustainability of our city.

The draft Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan (MWRRG) has been released for consultation. The purpose of this plan is to set out how the waste and resource recovery needs of metropolitan Melbourne will be met over at least the next 10 years. It aims to ensure we have the right infrastructure in the right places, while reducing our reliance on landfills.

Wyndham’s Refuse Disposal Facility is one of the largest in the region and will play an important role in managing Melbourne’s waste in the years ahead. To hear about the proposed plans and how they may affect our community come along to a consultation in Wyndham on:

Date: Wednesday 2 December 2015
Time: 2pm – 8pm
Venue: Wyndham City Civic Centre, Council Chambers,
45 Princes Hwy, Werribee

If you are unable to attend the public consultation but still want to have your say, I encourage you to share your views with Metro Waste and Resource Recovery Group’s draft plan through the consultation process at http://www.participate.mwrrg.vic.gov.au/draft-plan or phone (03) 8698 9800 before 18 December 2015.

Community engagement is a key part of the development of the plan. The Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group have met with representatives of key community groups in the development of the draft plan. The community groups involved in that process are also being briefed on the plan by MWRRG.

The draft plan proposes working with councils to replace existing landfill contracts with resource recovery alternatives and the first priority will be to build a recycling facility in the south east of Melbourne.

Increasing resource recovery to divert waste from landfill will require use of new technologies, education programs and improving the markets for recovered materials. The draft plan proposes actions to achieve this, acknowledging it will take time and requires commitment and collaboration between government, industry and the community.

In the short term, the draft plan considers how we can reduce the impact of existing landfills on community amenity and safety. A major focus will be diverting food and green waste away from landfills. Around 42% of all material landfilled in Melbourne is food and green waste, so building the organics recovery network will divert more of this waste from landfill, reducing odour and leachate issues that impact on local communities.

The independent advisory committee and the Planning Minister will need to take into account all issues, balancing local community concerns, the need to manage waste, growing population and increasing land use demands.

The Andrews Labor Government has also commissioned an independent public inquiry into EPA in light of community concerns regarding issues such as air and water quality and site contamination. Community engagement is a key part of this process. You can find out more about the inquiry at:
http://getinvolved.epa-inquiry.vic.gov.au/

Yours sincerely,

Tim Pallas MP
State Member for Werribee