Household education for 4-stream recycling
The Victorian Government is standardising household recycling and waste services to make it easier for people to sort their recycling and waste at home.
Victorian households that receive waste and recycling services from local councils and Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV), will soon have access to the new standardised 4-stream system with separate services for:
- glass recycling
- food organics and garden organics
- mixed recycling
- general rubbish.
Sorting recycling and waste into 4 standard streams will reduce materials being sent to landfill and help us make the most of our valuable resources.
Community education is a critical part of introducing new services. A well-designed community education campaign can reduce contamination and increase diversion rates.
Small Acts, Big Impact campaign
Introducing new services
To help deliver part of the Victorian Government’s circular economy plan Recycling Victoria: a new economy policy, Sustainability Victoria has developed the Small Acts, Big Impact campaign. The campaign aims to help Victorians better manage their recycling and reduce waste as new recycling services are rolled out.
As part of the program, Sustainability Victoria has been delivering statewide campaigns for all Victorians. Councils, industry and alpine resorts are encouraged to use Small Acts, Big Impact materials to deliver complementary local campaigns.
Sustainability Victoria has developed a range of templates that can be updated to reflect local services. The campaign materials are available on the Sustainability Victoria asset library: sustainabilityvictoria.hivo.com.au
Victorians look to their councils first when determining what can be recycled so we encourage you to make accurate recycling information readily available on your websites.
- Begin your campaign 3-6 months before new household recycling services are introduced.
- Review the available Small Acts, Big Impact assets and decide which ones are right for your campaign.
- Consider the best channels to promote your local campaign.
- Prepare FAQs to respond to queries you may receive from the community (cost, changes to bin collection frequency, increased burden of sorting).
Addressing contamination
Alongside the introduction of a 4-stream recycling system, it’s important to continue educating the community about how to recycle correctly and avoid contamination.
Victorians believe recycling is important and are motivated by the fact that correctly sorting recycling and waste can benefit the environment.
Contamination is often based on a misunderstanding of what can be recycled.
The Small Acts, Big Impact campaign includes many materials to encourage householders to recycle correctly.
- Publish and promote a list of what can and cannot be put into each bin.
- Perform regular kerbside bin audits to determine contamination rates and problem areas or items.
- Consider using bin tags or postcards during audits to provide feedback to householders about their recycling behaviours.
