A Victorian government body charged with preparing a 10-year waste management plan for the North East has admitted recycling deficiencies exist and heard legacy issues with landfills need to be addressed.
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The North East Waste and Resource Recovery Group concluded the last of its seven community consultation forums in response to its draft plan in Benalla on Monday night.
Chief executive Kath Gosden said the plan looked at the strategic side of waste management as opposed to an individual’s recycling activities.
“Clearly the community wants to reduce waste to landfill, they want to make sure we’re not impacting on the environment and public health,” she said.
“We want to make sure when we are recovering materials that they actually are being reprocessed and re-used.”
The plan would address recycling transport inefficiencies but the forum’s facilitator, Rob Caroline, said some waste from Mansfield was transported to near Benalla.
Several Benalla residents lamented there was not a facility to drop off domestic or farm waste but there was one in Shepparton.
Benalla Sustainable Future Group’s Judy Schwarzman said she was concerned about cultural attitudes toward waste.
“Personally, I’d prefer zero waste ending up in landfill,” she said.
“We should be focusing on how to get rid of plastic bags and bottles.”
But a Halve Waste spokesman told The Border Mail up to 10 per cent of what is placed in yellow-lidded bins ended up in landfill.
Ms Gosden said this was not acceptable.
“Clearly we have to work towards having 0 per cent ending up in landfill,” she said.
Mr Caroline mentioned research was under way looking at how to recycle soft plastics such as supermarket plastic bags.
Residents were also concerned about legacy issues of landfills but Mr Caroline said the state government was planning for their future use.
The Victorian EPA’s “priority sites register” listed former landfill sites in Bethanga, Wodonga and Yarrawonga as contaminated sites.
Ms Gosden said the taskforce was working with the EPA.
The draft implementation plan will be available for public comment until mid-June.
Once it is finalised it will be integrated with a 30-year statewide plan.
For more information about the blueprint, visit newrrg.vic.gov.au