Nillumbik Shire Council last night received notification from SKM Recycling that it would temporarily stop receiving recyclable materials at all its facilities until further notice.
The latest update could impact a number of councils across Melbourne and regional Victoria, including Nillumbik.
Council will collect recycling bins as normal next week and encourages residents to continue their recycling efforts.
However as SKM’s facilities are temporarily closed, regrettably, next week’s recycling may go to landfill.
The company has contracts with 33 Victorian councils and warned 400,000 tonnes of recyclables would be sent to landfill each year if fears of the company’s demise were realised.
Council is working closely with the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group to look for alternatives and contingency arrangements, such as sending recycling to another recycling processor.
Council will continue to keep the community informed of the situation. The State Government considers SKM “a rogue operator” according to ABC News.
Nillumbik Shire contributed to this report.
