As the Victorian State election will be held on Saturday 26 November 2022, the Victorian Government has assumed a caretaker role from 6.00pm on 1 November 2022.
During the caretaker period, content will only be added to this website in accordance with the caretaker conventions.
Linda Grant, Education Officer at Barwon South West Waste and Resource Recovery Group, talks all things recycled with Denis Napthine on 3YB FM.
Listen now to learn more about recycled products, recycling programs and procedures, the circular economy, and more.
In another positive step towards closing the loop and achieving a circular economy, a range of recycled plastic signs, fence posts, chicanes and bollards have been installed along the Twelve Apostles Trail to keep walkers and cyclists on the track.
Corangamite Shire Council Director Works and Services Brooke Love said products used in the project are made of soft plastic materials collected and recycled through the REDcycle Program.
“The aim is to keep the project as sustainable as possible,” Mrs Love said.
“Previously we have used virgin timber and treated timber for infrastructure projects. This project is more environmentally friendly and contributes to a circular economy, where the focus is to reduce consumption of finite materials, reuse and recycle. The approach benefits businesses, society, and the environment.”
The Twelve Apostles Trail – ‘Closing the Loop’ project is a step in the transition to sustainable infrastructure initiatives.
Council received funding from Sustainability Victoria’s Sustainable Infrastructure Fund to buy and install the recycled plastic products on the trail.
The fund, delivered by Sustainability Victoria on behalf of the Victorian Government, aims to:
Corangamite Shire is one of 18 councils sharing in more than $2.6 million through the Sustainable Infrastructure Fund to use recycled materials in infrastructure projects.
In great news for our local recycling industry, family-owned Geelong business GT Recycling has just been awarded a $3 million state and federal grant to be put towards their $4.7 million expansion. This will see the company able to process a massive extra 8,000 tonnes of plastic per year.
The grant is part of the federal Recycling Modernisation Fund and the Victorian Government’s Recycling Victoria program. While contributing to the mission of achieving a circular economy, it will have a number positive effects including more jobs for the region and a better outcome for the environment.
Victorian environment minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the grant would help GT to “install world-leading technology to recover a range of plastics from discarded agricultural plastic including plant pots, shade cloths, and tarps.”
Another positive step towards achieving a circular economy, the grant will mean that more plastic and other recycled materials will be brought back to life and see another day by being made into new recycled products.
Many of you may have heard the term ‘Circular Economy.’ But have you ever stopped and wondered what they’re referring to?
Recently, the Victorian Government launched the Recycling Victoria; A New Economy initiative, a circular economy policy and action plan that will fundamentally overhaul Victoria’s current recycling system. This policy will transform how our economy uses materials and as well as how our state reuses, repairs and recycles.
A circular economy is an economic system that strives to minimise the amount of waste we produce as well as the environmental impact of day-to-day products and consumption, instead favouring the use of recyclable and sustainable materials.
The Buy Recycled campaign is committed to showing the wonderful residents of the Barwon South West how they too can contribute to the circular economy, creating a healthier and brighter future for us all.
Recently, several local municipalities within the great Barwon South West have also committed to the establishment of a circular economy, including friends of our campaign:
But it’s not just up to our governments, it’s also up to us, to help make more sustainable choices and give our waste a second chance at life.
So, start thinking, how can I contribute to creating a circular economy and help make our region a healthier place?
You can start by asking yourself, why buy single-use items when you can buy items made from recycled material, thereby reducing the amount of waste going into landfill?
A great way to do this is by checking out our interactive map, showcasing the wonderful local businesses within our region that stock and sell products made from sustainable and ethical materials.
Happy hunting!
Meet the Jan Juc based business that created the world’s first recycled carbon fibre surfboard!
Tired of watching 45,000 tonnes of carbon fibre being poured into landfill each year, business partners Fil, Jimmy and Andreas took on a mission; to create the world’s first recycled carbon fibre surfboard.
With their combined expertise in aerospace engineering and chemistry, the business partners put their heads together and began producing surfboards made from chemically altered carbon fibre, reducing the risk of cracks and delamination.
Best of all? Being 100% recyclable, all Juc Surfboards can be recycled if they break!
Determined to be part of the solution, Juc Surf stocks a range of carbon fibre surfboards as well as items of merchandise such as shirts and hats.
With the boards designed by world-leading aerospace engineers, Juc surfboards are stronger, faster, lighter and a lot more carbon-neutral than your average fibre glass surfboard!
To find out more about this exciting business, please click here.
You can also check out their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The story of a Victorian company on a mission to eliminate single-use plastics
The brainchild of Mike Smith, the Victorian-owned and operated business started in 2019, aiming to tackle the global plastic program. Offering a range of care and cleaning products, Zero Co delivers orders directly to your door alongside empty dispensers, colour matching refill pouches as well as a pre-paid postage satchel. The customer then empties the contents of the satchels into their dispensers before sending the empty refill satchels back to Zero Co. Here, they are cleaned and refilled before being sent back to the customer, thereby eliminating the need for single-use plastics.
Be sure to check out the starter boxes, a product that allows you to receive a 2–3-month supply of various essential household items, including handwash, body wash, laundry liquid, multi-purpose spray, dishwashing liquid, dishwasher tablets, stain remover, shower cleaner, toilet cleaner or air freshener.
Zero Co also offer dispenses made from plastic waste found in the ocean, with refillable pouches created from recycled materials diverted from landfill. The business also recently commenced the Oceans 21 campaign, an initiative aiming to collect 21 tonnes of ocean waste and convert it into reusable bottles. For each starter box purchased, the company donates $5 towards their clean-up initiative, ensuring that all ocean wastage is removed and put to better use.
Better yet, become a member with Zero Co and refer your friends so you can both receive a $10 off coupon! All it takes is starting an account!
For more information, please click here.
Meet the owners behind an online eco store helping Victorian consumers to be more eco-conscious.
Committed to showing consumers how easy it is to be eco-conscious in their purchases, mother and daughter duo Heather and Erin started Live Eco, an online eco store offering a wide range of products from fashion accessories to kid’s products, cleaning and kitchen items, personal care items and everything in between. Each product sold has one thing in common; they are all eco-friendly, reusable, biodegradable or made from recycled material.
The business has also teamed up with innovative recycling company TerraCycle, offering consumers a convenient recycling service for items that are more difficult to recycle such as oral care products, razors, beauty products, mobile phones and much more. Offering free pick up with any service, the Live Eco team will collect unwanted household items and recycle them in a sustainable and ethical manner.
Be sure to check out the Onya Reusable Shopping bag, a lightweight, durable shopping bag made from recyclable drink bottles as well as the Eco Bling Recycled Wood & Tyre Bow Ties, made from recycled floorboards, tables and tyres!
For more information please click here.
The team at Little Earth Nest are on a mission to offer parents and families a sustainable choice when it comes to household products!
A family business on a mission to provide original, eco-friendly resources for the environmentally conscious, Little Earth Nest offers a wide range of natural, organic and environmentally friendly products ranging from kids toys to household care products.
Beginning in 2006, the business now operates an online store as well as physical store in Grovedale, Geelong, allowing founder Pip to help families understand the benefits of eco-friendly products for both the environment and their children.
Among the product highlights includes the Replay Recycle range, a range of recycled plastic tableware for children, featuring bowls, divided plates, sippy cups, cutlery and tumblers. Equally as colourful and quirky as they are environmentally friendly, the Replay Range is a great way to take a positive step towards reducing the production of single-use plastics.
The business also operates a blog, sharing their eco-friendly tips, from recipes to daily living advice and inspiration, offering advise on sustainability, permaculture, pregnancy and parenting.
For more information, please click here.