To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Victorians Could Soon Have Six Different Recycling Bins

Victorians Could Soon Have Six Different Recycling Bins

You'd have one for organic waste, glass, paper, plastic, metal and other.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Depending on where you live in Australia, you'll almost definitely have three rubbish bins. You'll have one for general waste, one for glass, cans and the like, and one for paper and cardboard. It's pretty simple.

However, that system could be about to change in Victoria after an interim report developed by Infrastructure Australia recommended having six bins.

Yep - you read that right: six different bins to sort your rubbish more specifically.

If the measure was adopted, you'd have a bin for organic waste, glass, paper, plastic, metal and other.

PA

Infrastructure Australia project director Elissa McNamara said: "It's very important that we have very clean streams of materials that are easy to recycle.

"The system where everything's all put in the one bin has been around for 20 years, and we haven't updated that.

"The glass gets broken, paper and cardboard get tiny particles of glass in it...they're so mixed up and contaminated that it's really hard to extract a high-value material that can be recycled.

"In the past, we've really been able to just set and forget. Now, we've had this global shock that really requires us to urgently reconsider how we deal with our recycling."

The global shock she's referring to was the big decision made by China last year when it announced it would no longer be the world's dumping site.

For years, the Asian powerhouse had been the location where places like Australia, the US, Japan and the European Union would send their rubbish.

PA

As a result, these countries need to take responsibility on their waste and this is just one proposal that could help make Australia better at recycling.

Victoria has nearly doubled the amount of rubbish it sends to waste management centres around the state with a whopping 13.4 million tonnes every year.

While some people aren't keen on the idea, people who helped construct the Infrastructure Australia report say we only need to look at Wales to see how beneficial it could be.

Consultant Toby Brennan said: "Wales has become one of the top recycling countries in the world.

"They don't have three bins, they have six. And instead of the typical waste truck that we're used to, where the bin goes on the back, it might have seven or eight different compartments along the side for different types of waste."

Victorians have said they would like to do more separation of their household rubbish, but it will be interesting to see if this gets brought in.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Australia