Organic waste management (OWM) Develop and implement measures to manage – organic waste closer to the point of generation. This includes organic waste recovery measures and re-use of organic waste for other beneficial purposes. What are your thoughts on these concepts that require further development? Is there information or issues we should consider in examining these concepts? INSIGHT: Manage pressures on landfill and waste recovery facilities Risks and opportunities – Landfill sites in and around our major cities are under increasing pressure to manage waste generated by a growing population. In addition to funding waste management activities, landfill levies can act as an incentive for investment in alternative waste management measures. Currently landfill levies are collected from Victorians through local council rates. Figures from the Environmental Protection Authority indicate that over $180 million was collected from Victorians as landfill levies in 2014-15. Two thirds of this amount was transferred to the Sustainability Fund, which had a balance of $430 million as at 30 June 2015. There can also be additional fees to drop waste at landfill sites or arrange for the collection of certain types of waste. There is a public perception that the monies being collected are not being used on relevant projects as promptly as they should be. Increases to landfill levies in the short term may exacerbate this issue, but there may be benefits if implemented in the longer term. One of our options is to change landfill levies to align these to the amount of waste generated per household. A sufficiently high landfill levy could encourage the development of waste management measures that reduces the volume of waste sent to landfill. This aligns with the waste management hierarchy, which gives priority to the prevention of waste generation over measures to manage waste disposal. Proponents of this hierarchy say that it allows for better environmental protection by conserving resources and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. There are some potential risks if the landfill levy is too high. It could lead to a rise in illegal dumping sites, particularly if alternative waste management measures are not readily available or are not supported through a holistic framework. An option for a change to the landfill levy requires awareness of both the risks and opportunities of its implementation. This can also inform how these pricing mechanisms are designed to achieve the outcome we are seeking. 16. HELP PRESERVE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS AND MINIMISE BIODIVERSITY LOSS Conservation areas, such as national and state parks, seek to preserve biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. They also provide services’ such as water catchment ‘ecosystem
Organic waste management (OWM) – Develop and implement measures to manage organic waste closer to the point of generation. This includes organic waste recovery measures and re-use of organic waste for other beneficial purposes. What are your thoughts on these concepts that require further development? Is there information or issues we should consider in examining these concepts? INSIGHT: Manage pressures on landfill and waste recovery facilities – Risks and opportunities Landfill sites in and around our major cities are under increasing pressure to manage waste generated by a growing population. In addition to funding waste management activities, landfill levies can act as an incentive for investment in alternative waste management measures. Currently landfill levies are collected from Victorians through local council rates. Figures from the Environmental Protection Authority indicate that over $180 million was collected from Victorians as landfill levies in 2014-15. Two thirds of this amount was transferred to the Sustainability Fund, which had a balance of $430 million as at 30 June 2015. There can also be additional fees to drop waste at landfill sites or arrange for the collection of certain types of waste. There is a public perception that the monies being collected are not being used on relevant projects as promptly as they should be. Increases to landfill levies in the short term may exacerbate this issue, but there may be benefits if implemented in the longer term. One of our options is to change landfill levies to align these to the amount of waste generated per household. A sufficiently high landfill levy could encourage the development of waste management measures that reduces the volume of waste sent to landfill. This aligns with the waste management hierarchy, which gives priority to the prevention of waste generation over measures to manage waste disposal. Proponents of this hierarchy say that it allows for better environmental protection by conserving resources and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. There are some potential risks if the landfill levy is too high. It could lead to a rise in illegal dumping sites, particularly if alternative waste management measures are not readily available or are not supported through a holistic framework. An option for a change to the landfill levy requires awareness of both the risks and opportunities of its implementation. This can also inform how these pricing mechanisms are designed to achieve the outcome we are seeking. 16. HELP PRESERVE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS AND MINIMISE BIODIVERSITY LOSS Conservation areas, such as national and state parks, seek to preserve biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. They also provide ‘ecosystem services’ such as water catchment
All_Things_Considered_-_Accessible_version.docx