By Jessica Micallef
Hume’s recycling collections are no longer being dumped in landfill, with the council striking a deal to send the municipality’s recyclables to the former SKM plant at Laverton North.
Hume council announced last week that collections from yellow recycling bins would return to normal from October 8.
The municipality’s kerbside recycling collections have been going to landfill for the past two months following the shutdown of SKM Recycling.
Hume mayor Carly Moore thanked residents for their patience and willingness to work together to reduce waste over the past two months.
“It was pleasing to see so many people recycle through alternative options like our pop-up recycling station and the resource recovery centres.”
Cr Moore said the pop-up recycling station would continue for the time being. The next recycling session is on Sunday, October 20.
The return of Hume’s recycling collections comes as waste company Cleanaway announced it had bought SKM. Cleanaway chief executive Vik Bansal said the company expected to “gradually restore” recycling operations in the coming months to provide councils with a “quality, sustainable solution for their recycling”.
To help residents avoid contaminating their recycling bins, Hume council has released a recycling guide. Paper, cardboard, milk cartons, glass bottles and jars, aluminium cans, steel cans and rigid and semi-rigid plastics numbers 1-7 can all be placed in recycling bins. Tetra Paks such as juice boxes and UHT milk cartons, lids from glass bottles and jars, and aerosols cannot be recycled.
Laura Michell
