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Let’s be clear on glass recycling

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Knox is among 36 Victorian councils listening to our community and calling on the state government to delay the mandatory rollout of a costly fourth glass bin.

In line with Victoria's plan for a circular economy policy, the Victorian Government requires councils to introduce a purple glass recycling bin to all households by mid-2027.

Knox Mayor, Councillor Paige Kennett said this would be a costly exercise with limited benefit to our community. 

“That’s why we have joined forces with other Victorian councils asking for the mandate to be paused, the release of the business case for the glass bin and to advocate for alternative options such as expanding the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) to include wine and spirit bottles as a more affordable, environmentally friendly alternative,” she said.

“We’re concerned about the cost for our residents who are already struggling with the cost of living and don’t want to pay for a service they already have.

“We’re urging the government to listen to our community, pause the rollout and work with councils on a smarter, more cost-effective solution.”

An independent study of 22 Victorian councils found that the introduction of a glass recycling bin would cost about $1.43 million per year to operate and about $27 per household. Adding a fourth bin will also mean more bins to manage, more space needed at home to house them, and additional collection trucks on our streets increasing congestion and generating more carbon emissions.

Community feedback from our 2025 Waste Service Review showed that homes in Knox have less than 10 glass items to recycle per week. For our community, this suggests a fourth household bin dedicated solely to glass recycling would not be well utilised. 

Residents in Knox are already managing glass recycling well, using both the over the counter and reverse vending machines located in Knox to recycle 2.3 million containers per month. Expanding the CDS to include wine and spirit bottles would still help us to recycle glass but reduce the burden on households to manage more waste items and without the ongoing costs of a separate bin service.

An expanded CDS has proven successful in Queensland with NSW and SA agreeing to expand their schemes by 2027.

Speak up for our community

Your feedback on the introduction of a glass bin service provided through our Waste Service Review will be considered when planning for future services in Knox. We also encourage community members to provide their feedback directly with the state government. 

If you support glass recycling but don’t want to pay for a separate glass recycling bin, add your voice to the campaign, ‘Let’s be clear on glass’. Complete the short survey by 25 May.

Complete the survey

A decision date on the advocacy campaign is unknown.

For more information, contact Council on 9298 8000. 

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