Future options for recycling and waste management in the Bendigo region remain murky without a solution to the waste management crisis.
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City of Greater Bendigo manager of resource recovery and education Brooke Pearce said life after landfill in Bendigo was unclear without more communication and transparency from the state government.
She said local governments need to be guided by a state-wide strategy.
"It's a tricky thing, there isn't a lot of transparency around what other (organisations and regions) are doing," she said.
"We're looking at absolutely everything, we're open to any suggestions but we want it to be the most cost effective and environmentally sustainable options."
The City of Greater Bendigo was one of four local governments to present at a public hearing in Echuca of the parliamentary inquiry into the state's recycling and waste management situation on Tuesday.
At the inquiry, Ms Pearce spoke about the looming closure of the Eaglehawk landfill and the effect it would have on the city.
"There are only about three years left in that site and finding a cost-effective and environmentally (sustainable) alternative is high on council's agenda," she said.
Ms Pearce said no future waste management land or site had been decided on because it depended on what sort of waste site it would be.
"We need to know what that technology will be," she said. "(That) will determine the buffer zone for the requirements of planning such as the distance we need to be from properties.
"So we need to determine what our solution is first. There are some areas (in Bendigo) dotted around and we keep in contact with the staff doing the Industrial Land Strategy. If we can tie in with that project, it would be fantastic.
"Hopefully we will have a decision in the near future. We just need to keep working with council and workshopping ideas and potential solutions."
Environment and planning committee chair Cesar Melhem, who is heading the inquiry, said it was important to visit rural areas and hear how the recycling crisis affected them.
"It's important for the parliament to not just focus on metropolitan regions," he said. "The financial impact on rural councils is noticeable."
More than 700 submissions have been submitted and processed as part of the inquiry.
"We plan to table a report by November 29," Mr Melhem said. "We handed in an interim report last week which focused on hazardous material.
"In the next five or six weeks we will start our deliberation and put together our recommendations and findings.
"What has pleased us is the state government has engaged Infrastructure Victoria (to explain) what sort of infrastructure is needed going forward to address all those (waste management) issues.
"The committee will be hearing from them when they table their discussion paper which, hopefully, will give us some strategy."
Ms Pearce said many submissions at the inquiry spoke to a separation between metropolitan and rural areas.
"Other shires also raised that it seems to be always metropolitan and rural, they're very separated.
"There's a lot of focus on metro, so sometimes transparency (in regional areas) can be left behind. So we spoke about really (wanting) a focus on regional areas.
"Our region - the Loddon Mallee - goes from Mildura down to Macedon. That's a huge area and we need the government to look at the distance and (figure out) where (any potential waste management) hubs will be for the region.
"How do we best help those little councils in between not have to pay a fortune in transport. We want the stater government to give us some answers on that, it shouldn't all be up to local government."
Ms Pearce also highlighted the cost factor involved in waste management for smaller local councils.
"It's such a long distance, transport and waste in general is an expensive process for small councils," she said. "We need to find an answer for everyone, not just the bigger councils like us."
Tuesday's hearing also discussed using waste to develop clean products and the importance of separating glass from other recyclables.
Ms Pearce said each submission to the inquiry had different issues.
Council's submission called for the state government to establish and maintain a "coherent, efficient and environmentally sustainable approach to solid waste management".
It also called for short and long-term solutions to be identified, better management of soft plastics, compostable paper and pulp and commercial waste.
"Everyone has their own individual issues," she said. "We're open to any ideas or solutions from a local or national perspective. There is no silver bullet (solution), it is going to be a whole group effort of federal, state and local industries."
The potential of waste-to-energy plants - sites that burns waste to produce electricity - was also discussed at the inquiry.
Ms Pearce said the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group has identified where possible future waste-to-energy plants could be in Melbourne but that it was unclear for rural Victoria.
"If it's going to happen in regional Victoria we (need) to have transparency so we can plan," she said.
"When you look at waste-to-energy and the parts of Europe where they seem to be everywhere, they are in countries where it is a colder climate and it's heating homes.
"Australia's climate is very different to that, so we need to look at those aspects and see what (could) work for Bendigo."
Mr Melhem said recycling and waste management solutions would include the whole state.
"You can't just have a solution for metropolitan areas and leave everyone else behind," he said. "It has to be a federal approach but it's an opportunity for states to provide leadership."
"What we heard from Bendigo was it is running out of (landfill) capacity.
"Waste-to-energy could be a solution, you could do something localised and it doesn't have to be a massive operation. That technology should have direction from the state government."
In it submission, Bendigo council identified a number of strategies local community groups had adopted to help manage the region's waste such as Elmore's self-imposed ban on single-use plastic bags and Bendigo Sustainability's Boomerang Bags and Repair Cafe.
Council's submission said Bendigo's organics program had diverted 40,000 tonnes from landfill since 2015.
It has now expanded to a pilot program for the city's restaurants.
The submission also referenced the Eaglehawk Recycle Shop, which diverted 10,000 tonnes of recyclable material from landfill annually.
"There are a number of local communities that are leading the way," the submission read. "State government support for these grassroots initiatives could enhance their longevity, enabling them to continue making a difference in local communities."
Mr Melhem said councils such as Greater Bendigo and Greater Shepparton were leading by example.
"It's good to know some of the innovation happening in regional councils such as the combining of green waste with organic waste," he said.
Mr Melhem said the state's recycling waste management solutions would include the whole state.
"You can't just have a solution for metropolitan areas and leave everyone else behind," he said. "It has to be federal approach but it's an opportunity for states to provide leadership."
"What we heard from Bendigo was it is running out of (landfill) capacity.
"Waste-to-energy could be a solution, you could do something localised and it doesn't have to be a massive operation. That technology should have direction from the state government."
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