Recycling crisis given $10 million lifeline

The collapse of a single company has created a massive pile of fetid, stinking waste at four sites that nobody wants to do anything about.

This is what $10 million worth of abandoned rubbish looks like.

The massive heaps were left neglected after Victorian recycling giant SKM went into receivership with debts of around $100 million.

Now the Victorian Government has announced it will give receivers a $10 million bailout to help pay for repairs and maintenance on machines at four sorting sites, in an effort to prevent the refuse going to landfill.

SKM’s closure forced 33 councils which had contracts with the company to send thousands of tonnes of recyclable waste to landfill.

That came after the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) ordered the company’s glass recycling service in Coolaroo, in Melbourne’s north, to stop operating due to dangerous and combustible stockpiles.

A massive fire broke out at that site in 2017, sending toxic plumes of smoke onto the air, which prompted the company being issued with a string of infringement notices.

SKM had been storing tens of thousands of tonnes of waste at five warehouses in Melbourne’s west and also had large piles in Adelaide and Hobart.

SKM Recycling is piled sky-high in Melbourne warehouses.

A site at Laverton, in the city’s south west, is expected to return to operation within five weeks, with the other sites at Coolaroo, Hallam and Geelong to follow.

“The priority is to clear those sites of the existing stockpiles and test the machinery to ensure that it is able to receive materials from outside of those sites,” Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio told reporters on Tuesday.

“There’s no point flicking a switch if there may be some failure of any of the machinery and at the same time receive waste that may not actually be able to be processed.”

Last week KordaMentha was appointed receivers and competitor Cleanaway acquired about $60 million of the debt, putting it in a position to take over SKM’s operations.

Ms D’Ambrosio said whoever bought the recycling processor would have to pay back the loan, but would not say whether they would have to pay interest.

The state government and local councils are also looking to trial increasing the number of recycling bins for household waste so there is less contamination, which happens in the current co-mingled system.

A previous fire at a Victoria SKM Recycling facility. Photo: Janette Irwin

Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said the government’s $10 million loan was “throwing money” at a problem rather than providing a solution.

The government also announced tougher penalties for operators who stockpile dangerous chemicals, including up to 10 years jail and $6.4 million dollar fines, in a bill to be introduced to parliament on Tuesday.

About 6.5 million litres of waste chemicals have been removed so far from three sites, while work at another 10 in Epping, Campbellfield and Craigieburn is ongoing.

— with AAP