Ballarat community members will have a financial incentive to reduce pollution from disposable drink bottles and cans with the introduction of a new recycling initiative later this year.
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The Victorian government on Friday announced November 1 as the start date for the state's first container deposit scheme, under which a 10-cent refund is given for every eligible drink container returned to a refund collection point.
Returned cans, cartons, and bottles will be recycled into new products.
A government spokesperson confirmed glass bottles such as beer bottles and old-style Coca Cola bottles will be included in the scheme.
This gives Ballarat residents an alternative to visiting council 'Pass on Glass' drop-off sites - the only official method for glass recycling since 2021.
Community groups and charities will be encouraged to set up donation points or refund collection points, or host collection drives, as an easy way to fundraise.
Phoenix College teacher Brendan Johnston was nominated in the 2020 Victorian Regional Achievement and Community Awards for his efforts to clean up his neighbourhood, and remains passionate about educating students to "make good choices" about rubbish and recycling.
Mr Johnston said a scheme that "puts a value on waste" was a sure-fire way to make people think twice about littering or contributing to landfill.
"I often talk to my students about waste and how much of it there is and [ask] if it was actually worth something, would you actually still throw it away?"
Ash Mabbitt, of the Eureka 4WD Club, said the scheme could be a great fundraising option for his club, after an organised clean up event in 2022 found 100 plastic water bottles in the bush around Nerrina and the White Swan Reservoir.
"It's about time that we [Victoria] did it," he said.
"South Australia have been doing it for years, and other states as well, so it's about time that we caught up."
The City of Ballarat has confirmed it will continue to pursue a 'Kerbside Transition Plan' incorporating a purple lid bin for glass recycling, collected from households either fortnightly or monthly.
Community feedback on the options will inform development of the plan, which will be presented to the council later this year along with a proposed timeline for implementation.
