The recycling industry has warned that kerbside recycling might no longer be viable, after China banned imports of Australian paper and plastic waste from January 1.

City of Ballarat director of infrastructure and environment Terry Demeo said it was possible that the council would be impacted by the changes to the purchase of recycled materials. 

“The City of Ballarat will be potentially impacted by the recent announcements around the recycling system,” he said.

“We are currently working with the Grampians Central West Waste & Resource Recovery Group who are liaising with State Government in respect to a broader statewide response."

With the waste levy encompassing garbage, green waste and recycling, Mr Demeo said it was a cost recovery only levy, with council currently having contractual arrangements for recyclables. 

“As is the case with all rates and levies, they are reviewed on an annual basis having regard to the existing cost structure,” he said. 

City of Ballarat’s recycling contractor is SKM Recycling, who attended an industry roundtable today with the Victorian Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio on China’s new restrictions on its imports.

A spokesperson for SKM said the changes had significantly reduced the value of some recyclable products, resulting in some key industry players suspending operations.

“SKM is continuing to receive and process the kerbside recyclable material from all councils to which it is contracted while talks with the Victorian Government continue on measures to ensure the recycling industry remains viable,” the SKM spokesperson said.

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Corangamite Shire – which takes in town like Skipton – have already flagged that recycling impacts will affect their bottom line. The cost of managing recycling materials could increase by more than $1 million for Warrnambool, Corangamite and Moyne, estimates show.

Warnambool City Council collects 3500 tonnes of recycled materials each year, while Corangamite collects 1635 tonnes and Moyne 1268 tonnes. Moyne Shire said it had been advised the cost of disposing of each tonne may rise from $40 to $200.

Fairfax Media have reported that several councils have already had recycling contracts cut off, with the Municipal Association of Victoria warning the problem could soon spread to the entire state.

“The council’s kept giving it to them, and the recyclers have no recourse. It’s like throwing the rubbish over your back fence – ‘it’s not in my backyard’,” says Peter Anderson, chief executive of the Victorian Waste Management Association.

“The councils are dumping their rubbish on the providers. And when the commercial process breaks down, there is no recourse for those providers.”

Mr Anderson says the industry has reached a point where it cost more to recycle a plastic bottle than that plastic could be sold for.

But unlike a commercial business that is subject to the laws of supply and demand, recyclers cannot turn away council waste.

If they cannot sell it, it ends up building up on-site – which can lead to fires. The industry believes stockpiling led to several recent fires at recycling centres; insurance brokers are so concerned, they warn the industry will soon become uninsurable.

“When that market collapses, they’ve got nothing to do but stockpile. And we don’t want that stockpiling to continue, as happened with SKM Recycling at Coolaroo recently,” Mr Anderson says.

“The offshoot of that is we end up with a fire risk, which is exactly what happened. It wasn’t SKM’s fault. The councils kept giving it to them, and they have no recourse.”

SKM say there was no link between a lack of demand and stockpiling at the Coolaroo site.

Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio will meet with businesses this week to find out what has happened and she said she would be discussing the issue with local government.

- With The Age and Warrnambool Standard