MOYNE Shire Council is investigating alternative options to its recycling contract with embattled processor SKM as the state government urges councils to consider "environmental standards" over cost.
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The Environmental Protection Authority banned SKM from accepting waste at one of its Melbourne-based plants last week, but Moyne Shire's recycling was unaffected, unlike a previous ban in February that resulted in 50 tonnes of the shire's recyling going to landfill.
That ban has since been withdrawn and Moyne Shire Council acting chief executive Trev Greenberger said the council would "monitor the situation with SKM" and investigate alternative options for the council's recycling.
"With the ongoing uncertainty in the recycling process, including a limited number of facilities that accept co-mingled recyclables, the importance of being smarter with waste management is again highlighted," Mr Greenberger said.
Victorian Waste Management Association chief executive Peter Anderson said while south-west councils were among the "most progressive" in the state with recycling, councils maintained contracts with SKM to keep costs low.
"Rateypayers have an expectation that our councils behave environmentally responsibly but when it comes to our environment councils are going for the cheapest options with the least environmental value," Mr Anderson said.
Moyne Shire Council will trial a fourth kerbside bin for glass separation in October, making recycling easier to process and relieve stockpile pressures at facilities. The glass will be processed at a local facility near Koroit, where it will be crushed and used as a substitute for sand in road making.
Mr Anderson said he supported the glass separation trial, but said public education would likely determine its success.
"It's very difficult for people to understand. I would love people to be able to recycle their glass, but what about glass with tin on it, what about glass with paper on it?" he said.
Meanwhile, a Glenelg Shire councillor and former representative on the Barwon South West Waste and Resource Recovery Group said governments could have avoided Victoria's waste crisis by investing in infrastructure rather than sending recycling overseas.
"We've been banging our heads against the wall knowing this was going to happen for 10 or 15 years," Robert Halliday said.
He said the state government needed to release some of the $750 million it had in its waste levy to build processing facilities.
"The money has to be freed up and infrastructure needs to be built to get rid of this waste," Cr Halliday said. "The government took the easy way out and sent it overseas."
A state government spokeswoman said SKM's ongoing non-compliance was "unacceptable" and showed that governments needed to "encourage new players in the the recycling industry".
"When it comes to contracting out recycling services, councils need to consider not just the best deal for ratepayers, but also safety and environmental standards," she said.
"One of the key actions of our $135 million investment into the waste and recycling sector is to diversify the market and help councils to renegotiate their contracts."
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