SKM Recycling plant in Coolaroo urged to have licence suspended after another toxic fire
FEAR of enduring another toxic fire is fuelling residents’ calls to shut down an ill-fated recycling plant.
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PRESSURE is mounting on a notorious recycling plant in Coolaroo to shut down after a fire broke out almost 12 months to the day a toxic inferno terrified residents.
Of the 541 readers who cast their votes in a Northern Leader Facebook poll, 72 per cent wanted SKM Recycling to have its licence revoked.
In the latest incident, recycling material stored in a shed at the Maffra St site caught fire on July 7 about 7.30pm and was extinguished just before midnight.
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Former Dallas resident Castor Murillo, who has since moved to the Gold Coast with his young family, said enough was enough.
Mr Murillo said he still suffered chest and throat infections from the 11-day fire, which broke out on July 13, 2017.
At the height of that blaze, hundreds of nearby residents were urged to evacuate due to concerns over poor air quality and 11 people required hospital treatment.
“At the very least, SKM Recycling’s licence should’ve been suspended, but nothing has been done,” Mr Murillo said.
It can be revealed that since the 2017 blaze, the Environment Protection Authority carried out 28 inspections and issued six legally enforceable notices, requiring clean-up and pollution actions.
Reader Marina Grobisa said lives must come before profits.
“The council should seriously consider what having this site near residential homes means for the future,” she said.
“As we all know, illnesses develop over time.”
But many readers expressed concern about job losses if the site was to shut.
Yasemin Maranzano said the focus should be on prevention because the alternative would cause unemployment to rise.
Hume Council planning and development director Michael Sharp didn’t respond to questions on whether SKM Recycling’s licence should be revoked.
SKM Recycling didn’t respond before Leader’s deadline.
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