A SOUTH-WEST council is trialling a new recycling processor after another company was unable to accept the contents in the shire's yellow bins for most of this year.
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The contents in Moyne Shire's yellow bins have not been successfully recycled for nearly 18 months, firstly due to processor SKM collapsing then due to incorrect items contaminating papers and plastics sent to Australian Paper Recovery.
But Moyne Shire environment and regulatory services manager Robert Gibson said the council sent a small sample of recycling to a new processor in October to receive a report on where improvements could be made.
"The initial trial indicated we are getting better at separating our recyclables," Mr Gibson said.
"To further inform how we can maximise processing of recyclables, council sent a full week's load to the processor in November, and we are now awaiting the results from that trial."
It's understood the processor is ASX-listed Cleanaway, which bought failed SKM last year and later bought the south-west's Statewide Recycling.
Moyne Mayor Daniel Meade said the council was also working to raise awareness ahead of the holiday period about its four-bin waste system, which includes a purple bin for glass and limits on what can go in the yellow bin.
"We are gearing up for a particularly busy summer period, though with lots of celebration often comes lots of waste," Cr Meade said.
"We are certainly getting close to the zero glass target.
"Just one yellow bin containing glass contaminates the whole truck load of recyclables and can lead to all of it going to landfill.
"Only materials that can be recycled here in Australia should go in the yellow recycling bin; plastics with a recycling symbol 1 or 2, paper, cardboard, aluminium and steel cans."
The council has sent information to accommodation providers and visitor information centres, will place "no glass in yellow bin" stickers on public bins, and display four bins at the Port Fairy Visitor Information Centre.
The council will add extra collections of yellow bins during the weeks of December 14, 21 and 28, anticipating an increase in recyclables from holidaymakers.
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Jackson Graham
Jackson is a reporter for The Standard.
Jackson is a reporter for The Standard.
