MOYNE Shire Council has confirmed that its recycling is going to landfill, following a shutdown of contractor SKM.
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Moyne chief executive Bill Millard said that the council would continue to investigate alternative recycling options following the notification last Thursday that SKM would stop receiving waste from about 30 councils.
"For the immediate future, recyclable materials are going to landfill, however council and our waste collection contractors are expediting negotiations with other recycling processing facilities to find a better solution," Mr Millard said.
"Council is receiving daily updates from both the state government and the Municipal Association of Victoria on the SKM issue, and is having regular discussions with other affected councils."
Moyne Shire mayor Mick Wolfe said the council had no alternative for its recycling yet, and could not have been prepared for SKM's shutdown despite the stoppage being the second in six months.
"Even while we were awaiting any possible announcement, we had a contract, which runs for this year with SKM," Cr Wolfe said.
"While you have got your contract in place no one is going to be interested in breaching our contract while it is operational. You can look at options, but whilst the contract is in place you can't breach the contract."
He implored that the state government should use millions of dollars currently in a sustainability fund to build a publicly owned processing facility.
"They have the money in that fund to build a recycling centre. But again, they are not interested," Cr Wolfe said.
A state government spokeswoman said council's recycling going to landfill had ensured community safety by avoiding stockpiling at recycling plants.
"Sending recyclable material to landfill is always a last resort, but is a safer option than allowing materials to be stockpiled," she said.
"We're working with councils and the recycling industry to ensure as much recycling as possible is sent to alternative providers for processing.
"Bins will keep being collected throughout this time and it's more important than ever that Victorians maintain the great recycling habits they have developed over decades and look at how we can further reduce our waste."
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