Victoria container deposit scheme....

Victoria is set to get a container deposit scheme to tackle its recycling and waste crisis, just months after the state government rejected the idea.

It is the only Australian jurisdiction not to offer such a program and has resisted calls by the public, the opposition and the Greens to implement one.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, posted to his Facebook account on Monday morning that it would be introduced as part of a “massive overhaul of our state’s recycling industry”.

The environment minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, said the scheme would be in place by 2023.

Recycling crisis: why don't we have a national container deposit scheme?

“This will reduce the amount of plastic and waste that goes to landfill,” she said, also on Facebook. “It will give a second, third and fourth life to beverage containers. It will reduce litter. And it will mean businesses have an ongoing source of recycling material to turn into new products.

“This is just the first of a suite of reforms to Victoria’s recycling industry.”

In August the Greens introduced a bill to state parliament for a 10c refund on bottles and cans. D’Ambrosio said it was not on the government’s agenda.

“We’ve been very clear about continuing to monitor the rollout of [container deposit] schemes in other states,” she told ABC radio at the time.

“Right now though, our focus is on developing the markets and the products that do use recyclable materials so we do have a demand for it.”

The squeeze on recycling has been particularly acute in Victoria since the processor SKM went into liquidation last year, forcing several councils to send material to landfill.