The Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan

About the Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan

The Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan (VRIP) outlines infrastructure needs and gaps, driving innovation and potential investment where it is needed most. This investment will create jobs and strengthen the sector and the wider Victorian economy. It also informs potential locations for new development and helps to protect existing infrastructure from encroachment.

The VRIP is accompanied by a prospectus that outlines investment opportunities in the waste, recycling and resource recovery sector, and how we can support investment.

As an essential resource for industry, local government, and investors, the VRIP provides:

• in-depth infrastructure needs analysis that considers capacity and capability
• place-based assessments for each material stream
• residual waste and waste-to-energy
• regional opportunities
• land use planning.

The VRIP is a critical component in building Victoria’s circular economy with the benefits it will bring to the wider state economy and to employment in the sector.

Download the VRIP

Obligations under the VRIP and the Environment Protection Act 2017

The VRIP helps us decide on waste and recycling permission applications. This is set out in sections 52A and 54 of the Environment Protection Act 2017.

Our role

We must:

• refuse to consider an application for a new landfill site if the site is not listed in the VRIP landfill schedule (section 52A(4)), unless:
  • the site is privately owned, and
  • the site will only take waste that belonged to the site owner before it became waste (section 52A(5))
• give written reasons if it refuses or does not consider an application (section 52A(6)).

In some cases, we may decide not to consider or may refuse a permission application if the proposed activity is not consistent with the VRIP or its landfill schedule (section 52A). This includes proposals to expand existing landfill sites that are not consistent with the VRIP (section 52A(3)).

To help ensure activities are consistent with the VRIP, we may add permission conditions (section 54(2)(c)).

Industry’s role

If you are applying for a permission to operate a landfill, check that:

• your site is listed in the VRIP landfill schedule
• your plans are consistent with the VRIP.

If you are applying for a permission to operate a waste management facility, check that your plans are consistent with the VRIP.

Waste, recycling and resource recovery investment prospectus

Working in partnership with government agencies that facilitate Victorian business growth, we have developed a prospectus based on the VRIP that highlights investment opportunities and support.

Victoria’s waste, recycling, and resource recovery sector is undergoing a pivotal transformation in the move to a more circular economy.

With our leadership and support from an extensive government investment ecosystem, opportunities are available across the sector. The inaugural Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan (VRIP) represents a step forward in our transition to a circular economy.

The VRIP offers investors confidence in our long-term vision for waste and recycling infrastructure. This prospectus builds on the VRIP to highlight investment opportunities in Victoria’s waste, recycling, and resource recovery sector. Together with industry, investors and government partners, we will continue to lead the move to a world class circular economy system in Victoria.

Download the prospectus

Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan Annual Progress Report 2024-25

The Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan (VRIP) Annual Progress Report provides an update on the implementation of the VRIP in the 12 months from October 2024 to October 2025.

Download the VRIP Annual Progress Report 2024-25

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