Knox Council is now using Polytrade Pty Ltd to process recycling

Knox Council was forced to send some recyclables to landfill after the closure of SKM, but it is now assuring the community that items collected from households and businesses will again be recycled, after it found a new provider.

SKM Recycling is piled sky-high in Melbourne warehouses.

Knox Council has found a new provider to process recyclables.

The council had been forced to send some recyclables to landfill after the closure of its previous provider SKM.

But Mayor Jake Keogh said the council was now using the services of Polytrade Pty Ltd on an interim basis, to process all recyclable materials collected in Knox.

Cr Keogh said the arrangement entered into with Polytrade was on an as-needed basis up until December 2020.

He said all other recycling arrangements — including the collection of bins — remain the same, with JJ Richards continuing to collect recyclable materials, which will now be delivered to Polytrade, instead of SKM Recycling, until further notice.

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Cr Keogh said it was a challenging time for the recycling sector, with a lack of operators and markets for recyclable materials impacting on service delivery.

“It is important to bear in mind that the wider recycling issue will only be solved over the long-term with the active engagement and assistance of the State Government in particular, ” Cr Keogh said.