Matt Genever, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainability Victoria, explains why behaviour change is the quiet achiever in the quest for Victorians to achieve a sustainable future.
As a new year unfolds, there is much to be positive about. Councils are delivering more services to more Victorians, we have a leading container deposit scheme, government and industry have co-invested to the tune of $600 million (and added two million tonnes in new recycling capacity), and more and more households are accessing these recycling services.
If we were to look at just our recycling industry, things would look quite rosy indeed!
As impactful as the reforms in Victoria have been, we’re still one of the most wasteful societies on earth. In 2024, Victoria released new projection modelling as part of the Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan (VRIP). The modelling suggests we are on track to double our waste generation between now and 2050, moving from broadly 16 million tonnes generated per annum to a whopping 32 million tonnes per annum.
When we remind ourselves that 45 per cent of global emissions and more than 90 per cent of all biodiversity loss is tied to material consumption, it’s clear that the trajectory we are on is unacceptable from an economic, social and environmental perspective.
While we must continue to support our resource recovery sector to provide a strong foundation for our future circular economy, Australia has no choice but to step bravely and boldly into a conversation with our community about avoiding waste in the first place.
Behaviour change might just be the unsung hero we need to address this fundamental shift.
The potential
One of the most powerful tools at our disposal is to consider the psychology of human behaviour in changing community habits and attitudes for the long term.
Sustainability Victoria (SV) has been running statewide behaviour change campaigns on behalf of the Victorian Government for more than a decade.
Since 2020, our campaigns have focused on supporting the major changes to waste and recycling through Victoria’s circular economy plan, Recycling Victoria. Through these campaigns, we are supporting Victorians to adapt to the biggest changes to recycling in a generation, helping people recycle correctly and reduce contamination so our recycling system can operate to its full potential.
While we know Victorians consistently show intent to reduce waste and recycle correctly, a gap exists between intentions and actions – a lack of knowledge, motivation or capacity gets in the way.
Social research has enabled SV to benchmark Victorians’ behaviours, identify the barriers people face, and unpack how to tackle this through evidence-based interventions and campaigns.
In for the long run
One of the most significant recent sustainability behaviour change initiatives in Victoria has been SV’s Small Acts, Big Impact (SABI) campaign. Developed in collaboration with councils, this campaign has made it easy for Victorian households to adapt to new recycling bins and rules, and to find ways to reduce food and plastic waste.
This landmark campaign is leading the way nationwide and has been licensed interstate based on its success in Victoria.
As councils roll out the new four-bin system, the SABI campaign has been an invaluable tool to ensure householders are consistently informed and educated on the changes.
Grants totalling $4.6 million to 69 councils and alpine resorts have enabled them to deliver locally tailored SABI campaigns specific to the needs of their communities, while being supported by statewide campaigns to build awareness and understanding of the recycling reforms.
With contamination one of the sector’s biggest challenges, it’s critical that householders understand changes to the bin system and their role in making it work.
Through campaigns such as Loose Not Bagged and Recycling is Changing, we’ve been able to increase correct recycling behaviours and reduce contamination. Since SV’s SABI campaign began in 2021, the number of Victorians contaminating their recycling by putting it in bags has reduced from 20 per cent down to 13 per cent in 2023. This equates to seven per cent of Victorians, or approximately 360,000 people, changing their behaviour.
Alpine Shire Council used a local SABI campaign when introducing its new food and garden organics service, resulting in 37 per cent of waste from general rubbish being diverted away from landfill.
These campaigns not only promote better recycling but also build trust in our waste and recycling system, essential for long-term success.
In 2023, research found that those exposed to the campaign demonstrated increased confidence in the system – 66 per cent of participants trusted the recycling system, compared to just 53 per cent of those who hadn’t encountered the campaign.
Normalising avoidance
Recycling, however, is still the last line of defence.
If we are to truly reduce waste, we must make significant shifts further upstream in the waste management hierarchy. We need to change our behaviour around consumption itself. The new focus must be on rethinking how we acquire, use and discard products – embracing practices such as reusing, repairing, reducing, and avoiding waste in the first place.
Campaigns such as The Simple Switch Up and I Love Leftovers have already begun shifting consumer attitudes toward reducing single-use items and minimising food waste.
Our most recent iteration in October/November 2024 of the SABI campaign, Making the most of your food scraps and garden clippings, tackled contamination in FOGO streams through showing how the end product is used on farms to grow new food. Post-campaign results found that 206,000 Victorians performed a new behaviour to prevent FOGO contamination after seeing the campaign.
But households aren’t the only target. Businesses, including those in the hospitality industry, play a crucial role. Through our Love Food Hate Waste campaign, we’ve worked with more than 500 Victorian hospitality businesses, providing them with the tools and knowledge to reduce single-use plastics.
Schools, too, are an important focus through our ResourceSmart Schools program. Since 2008, the program has helped schools divert an impressive 170,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill.
The success of these programs shows that behaviour change can be a quiet achiever, bridging the gap between intent and action.
As we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in waste management and sustainability, we must prioritise the psychology of human behaviour.
Shifting attitudes and instilling lasting habits is crucial to moving beyond the recycling bin and into a world where waste avoidance becomes second nature.
Related stories:
Sustainability Victoria outlines state’s path to circular economy leader
The Last Word: Reframing the waste hierachy
