By Tate Papworth
Brimbank council is in negotiations with waste management company Cleanaway to sure up a permanent new kerbside recycling agreement.
The council had previously contracted SKM for its recycling. The company folded in July, owing tens of millions of dollars and brought the municipality’s kerbside recycling to an abrupt halt.
A massive 2314 tonnes of recyclable material from across Brimbank was dumped in landfill for more than eight weeks.
The council was left $185,000 out of pocket, but has since received a state government grant to offset the costs of landfilling recyclables.
The council had arranged a short-term agreement with SKM receivers, KordaMentha to process its kerbside collected recyclable material at the Laverton North processing facility. The $66 million purchase of SKM by Cleanaway was announced last week.
Brimbank council acting director infrastructure and city services Tom Razmovski said a new arrangement was now in the works.
“Given the acquisition by Cleanaway of the SKM assets, a new contract will need to be negotiated,” he said. “Council will also continue to liaise with the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group in relation to the options for long term arrangements for the processing of Brimbank’s recyclables.”
It’s yet to be determined if the new contract will impact rates, but Mr Razmovski said the kerbside recycling process would remain the same for the foreseeable future.
“Given a new contract is still to be negotiated, the cost of service and any impact on rates is yet to be determined,” Mr Razmovski said. “At this stage council is not looking to change the current kerbside collection arrangements, however the state government is in the process of preparing a circular economy strategy which may provide options for new recycling services for council’s consideration.”
Cleanaway’s purchase of SKM doesn’t solve the issue of five warehouses left with thousands of tonnes of stockpiled glass, paper, cardboard and plastic.
