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Golden Plains Shire has announced they will be sending recycling to landfill for the next two weeks.
It follows the closure of the Geelong SKM recycling provider site for two weeks, which was revealed late Wednesday. The recycling plant is the last SKM site in Victoria not shut down entirely by the EPA.
"Council encourages all residents to continue to sort their waste and recycling collection, and where possible, to reduce overall waste," the council's statement read.
"If your yellow bin is not full we do suggest holding it for the next collection.
"While most collection trucks will continue to separate recycling and waste, at times it will be necessary for trucks on some routes to collect waste and recycling at the same time to avoid service disruption."
Both City of Ballarat and Hepburn Shire Council have stated they will stockpile recycling in their municipalities, until the plant reopens.
Pyrenees Shire have noted in an updated press release from today that they will continue to collect kerbside recycling, but anything they pick up over the next few weeks will go to landfill.
EARLIER:
Pyrenees residents urged to hold on to recyclables, but it's business as usual in Ballarat and Hepburn
RECYCLING will no longer be collected from households at Pyrenees Shire Council, with City of Ballarat maintaining that it will be business as usual.
Residents in Pyrenees Shire are being asked to hold on to their recycling, with the council stating recyclable materials will not be accepted during the next couple of weeks.
It comes as a stockpile of recyclables sparked a temporary shutdown of SKM's facilities in Coolaroo and Laverton meaning all waste was being diverted to Geelong.
The two initial shutdowns came as a result of a ban placed on the two sites by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) last week, with fears around the possibility of a fire if the stockpiles were to ignite.
The Courier understands the Geelong site was not issued with an EPA notice, but the site was being temporarily closed to avoid one.
Pyrenees Shire Council urged residents to hold on to their recyclables for the next two weeks, or until further advice was disseminated.
"Otherwise, any recyclables collected by us may need to go to landfill as we are unable to store the recycling material," a statement read.
"Alternatively, in the short term, residents may take their recycling to one of our transfer stations at Beaufort, Avoca, Snake Valley or Landsborough where it will be held onto until the SKM facility resumes operation.
"We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience, we are working with our processor to resolve the issue as soon as possible."
Meanwhile the City of Ballarat said it was "currently investigating alternative receivers for the short term and is not expecting to send any recycling to landfill at this stage".
City of Ballarat Infrastructure and Environment Director Terry Demeo encouraged residents to keep recycling as normal.
“It’s important we maintain our recycling momentum as the City of Ballarat and residents work together to meet the current challenges,” he said.
Hepburn Shire Council has also confirmed that it is business as usual.
Hepburn Shire’s recycling is transported to Ballarat before being transported to SKM’s Geelong sorting facility.
It said recycling bin pick-ups across the shire would continue as normal despite the closure of SKM's Geelong recycling plant.
"Council has been working hard to secure alternative arrangements for the processing of our recycling and bins will be collected as scheduled," a statement said.
"This is very dynamic situation and we are watching this closely to ensure we secure our recycling services. We encourage residents to continue their recycling practices."
The state's recycling crisis was sparked by China's decision to restrict waste imports from a number of countries, including Australia, in January 2018.