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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Environment
Benita Kolovos, Petra Stock and Adeshola Ore

Licence to burn: Victoria is changing the way it deals with rubbish – is it moving too fast?

Birds fly over a landfill in Australia
Victoria hopes waste-to-energy plants will help the state reach its target of diverting 80% of waste from landfill by 2030. Photograph: Bloomberg Creative Photos/Getty Images

On Melbourne’s suburban fringe, plans have been quietly taking shape that will change how Victoria deals with its rubbish. Last Wednesday, seven waste-to-energy plants were given the green light, in addition to four already approved – a total surpassing the rest of the country combined.

Together, the new projects will have a licence to burn through 2.35m tonnes of rubbish a year – more than double the 1m-tonne limit the Victorian parliament set when it first legislated the waste-to-energy scheme in 2022.

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