Proposed Thomastown facility could process Whittlesea, Hume and Darebin waste
As the State Government works to resolve the recycling crisis brought about by the closure of SKM, a solution could be in sight for residents in Whittlesea, Hume and Darebin.
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A solution to the state’s ongoing recycling crisis could be on the way for thousands of people in Melbourne’s north — but it may still be 12 months off.
All rubbish from Whittlesea, Hume and Darebin would be processed at a new resource recovery centre based in Thomastown if a proposal by private waste contractor Waste Wise Environmental is signed off by Whittlesea Council and the councils choose the company as their new waste disposal contractor.
The centre would have the capability to process 40,000 tonnes of waste and waste derived products a year, and could be up and running within 12 months.
Waste Wise managing director Frank Cardamone said the plan had already received backing from the State Government in the form of a $500,000 Sustainability Victoria grant from the Resource Recovery Infrastructure Fund.
Mr Cardamone said the centre at 152 Mahoneys Rd and 8-12 Aylward Ave would be designed to sort and separate plastic, paper, glass and metal collected from the company’s existing rubbish collection operation across Melbourne, as well as waste from “three or four councils” including Hume, Darebin and Whittlesea.
Spokespeople for Whittlesea and Hume councils said at present the councils were bound by existing waste contracts.
Whittlesea Council partnerships, planning and engagement director Liana Thompson said the application would also need to be approved before council could consider using the facility.
Darebin Council declined to comment.
Recycled materials from the proposed facility would be exported to domestic and international reprocessors and non recyclables would be disposed of at licenced landfills, plans showed.
The plans come amid a decision by the State Government to loan receivers of failed waste company SKM $10 million to repair and maintain machines that sort waste to prevent more recyclables going to landfill.
Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio also announced an overhaul of kerbside collections, expected to start in 2021.
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Mr Cardamone said the Thomastown centre would not solve the recycling crisis for everyone, but it would be “part of the solution”.
“Moving forward there will need to be a dozen sites like this so they are not putting all of their eggs in one basket,” Mr Cardamone said.
Plans for the site showed no proposed changes to the footprint of two warehouses already owned by Waste Wise, with “minor construction works” required to install a weighbridge and recycling processing equipment.
Mr Cardamone said the size of the centre prevented the stockpiling of flammable materials such as glass and the site’s location, in an industrial zone, meant there would be no impact on Thomastown residents.
A date for when a decision about the facility would be made was not yet available, Ms Thompson said.