Melbourne-based councils could overwhelm the facility where Ballarat sends its recyclables.
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SKM Services, which takes Ballarat’s kerbside recyclables, was hit with an Environment Protection Authority ban on its two Melbourne sites on Thursday.
The changes are not expected to affect Ballarat at this time, as its materials are sent to Geelong, nor are delays expected, but councils are watching closely.
It is not currently known where the material will be redirected - SKM has three major facilities, in Coolaroo, Laverton, and Geelong South.
The City of Ballarat’s infrastructure and environment director Terry Demeo said council had not yet been advised of “any impact”.
“SKM has been working recently to expand its capacity across the state,” he said.
“We will monitor the situation, but we would expect SKM to advise us of any service delivery changes.”
The EPA called for the closure of the Coolaroo and Laverton SKM facilities because of “significant risk and challenge for firefighting agencies” if stockpiles of plastic materials were ignited, according to chief executive Dr Cathy Wilkinson.
There was a fire at the Coolaroo site in 2017, which the EPA is investigating, and a fire at the Geelong site in 2018.
The recycling industry has been in crisis since the Chinese government put restrictions on what can be imported – many companies had been taking kerbside recyclables and selling the material on to China, but the ‘Green Sword’ policy meant contaminated materials would no longer be accepted.
Councils have been left scrambling to remedy this, and keep recyclable material out of landfills.
The Municipal Association of Victoria expressed its frustration that councils were kept out of the loop on the order.
“A lack of leadership and investment by both federal and state governments over many years has left our recycling industry in a volatile position,” Cr Mary Lalios said.
The Age reported the state government is working on “contingency plans”, and encouraged residents to continue kerbside recycling as normal.
Ballarat’s contract with SKM ends in January 2020.
SKM was contacted for comment.
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