Government policy reminds us that we all have a role to play when it comes to environmental sustainability

Whether you own a coffee shop or restaurant, or manage a CBD office, the Australian Victorian Government has long seen your organisation as a priority in relation to waste management.

The Victorian waste management priority has recently gained impetus with the Victorian Government set to tackle the growing waste generation problem in Victoria following a report by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office in 2011, which concluded that “waste generation continues to rise above expectations… The reasons for underachievement in relation to municipal solid waste encompass a lack of effective planning, leadership, coordination and oversight.” (Audit Summary p vii).

Indeed, an annual survey of Victorian Recycling Industries, as reported by the Department of Sustainability and Environment Waste Policy Paper (2012), demonstrates that approximately 4 million tonnes of food organics are disposed to landfill (Discussion Paper, p.4). With these numbers in mind, the Ground to Ground initiative agrees that it is timely to consider new methods to tackle effective waste management in Victoria.

The Victorian Government is set to determine a 30 year vision for waste management in Victoria and active policy priorities over for the next 10 years. In November 2012 over 71 public submissions were received by the Department of Sustainability and Environment for consideration.

The government policy agenda reminds us that we all have a role to play when it comes to environmental sustainability. As Ground to Ground supporters you can all continue to make a difference by sharing the Ground to Ground message that recycling coffee grounds avoids a rich organic material ending up in landfill.

For more information we refer you to the following links:

Click to access 6476-DSE-Waste-Policy-Review-WEB-v2.pdf

Click to access 7123-DSE-Draft-Resource-recovery-policy-WEB-v4.pdf

Regular updates in relation to the government policy agenda will be posted on this site.

About the author: Bianca Genziuk is a lawyer, researcher and supporter of the Ground to Ground initiative (and my little sister!).

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