By Goya Dmytryshchak
Hobsons Bay residents have expressed anger at all their waste going to landfill as the ban on SKM Services accepting recyclables at two facilities enters a third week.
Residents are again being urged to hold onto their recyclable waste after the Environment Protection Authority closed down SKM’s Coolaroo and Laverton North sites on February 15, due to fire risks.
Altona resident Erin Finnigan said ratepayers needed reassurance that genuine attempts were being made to find a timely solution.
“It’s not enough to ‘monitor day by day’ as the mayor states,” she said.
“We need to know if it’s intended to simply ‘monitor’ this situation until someone else fixes it – a government body – or the contract expires [in February 2020].
“The council ought be seeking legal advice as to whether the contract should be rescinded if a recycling service can no longer be fulfilled.
“In my view, this is much more than a mere disappointment, rather it is an utter disgrace.”
Newport resident Michele Winter said she was shocked when she learnt her recyclables would go to landfill.
“Hobsons Bay should not have collected the recycling this week,” she said.
“At least we would have had the time to look up the problem and try a little harder condensing it down for the next pick-up.
“The big question is – what if the problem with SKM Recycling is not resolved by then?”
Hobsons Bay mayor Jonathon Marsden has encouraged residents to hold back their recycling while the council works with SKM and the state government to investigate immediate options as well as long-term solutions.
“We are also receiving advice on the contractual obligations of SKM Recycling so we can ensure our city’s recycling is supported to the fullest extent possible in both the short and long term,” he said.
“However, unfortunately with limited processing capacity at other facilities, we have had no other option but to continue sending recycled materials to landfill.”
SKM was contacted for comment.
