Boroondara recyclables sent to landfill after SKM closure

Boroondara Council has secured a new environmentally friendly deal for the area’s recyclables, but it came too late to stop hundreds of tonnes of rubbish being sent to landfill.

Hundreds of tonnes of recyclables were sent to landfill while Boroondara Council and its rubbish contractor worked out a deal with a new waste processor.

The council confirmed last week up to 460 tonnes of recyclables were sent to landfill between July 26 and August 2 after SKM Recycling suddenly stopped accepting Victorian councils’ rubbish.

Kerbside recyclables in Boroondara have been sent to Visy since August 5 under the new contract, but ratepayers earlier lashed out online, criticising the council’s failure to arrange a new recyclables processor sooner.

The council noted on its Facebook page it was unable to make an announcement about its new processor earlier because it may have “jeopardised weeks of negotiations”.

It also confirmed to the Progress Leader last week the deal came at an extra cost to the council, though staff stopped short of saying how much.

Boroondara Mayor Jane Addis said negotiations with Visy had been “complex” and the council was rolling out a number of environmentally friendly waste initiatives.

“Negotiations were complex because there were four parties involved,” Cr Addis said.

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“Our community doesn’t want us to send recycling to landfill. (The) council remains committed to proactively implementing initiatives for sustainable waste management, such as the introduction of a food organics and garden organics waste service, laying out asphalt made from recycled materials, and using recycled rubber and wood in our playgrounds, parks and gardens.”

Many other councils had not yet arranged an alternative waste processor, meaning their rubbish continued to be sent to landfill, Cr Addis said.

She also called on the State Government to take action on the issue and tell people how it planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars it collected through its waste levy.

The council’s contract with Visy will remain in place until November 2022.