Recycling row flares
BODY SAYS GOVT HASN’T DONE ENOUGH AS COUNCILS LEFT TO DEAL WITH ISSUE
The Victorian Government has wiped its hands of responsibility as Victorian councils scramble to prevent recyclable waste being dumped in landfill.
Plants operated by one of the state’s largest recycling firms have been temporarily shut down by the environmental watchdog, leaving councils with no option but to dump the material.
Two SKM recycling facilities at Coolaroo and Laverton North were ordered to stop accepting waste last week, with the EPA citing dangerous stockpiling posing a fire hazard.
SKM takes about 50 per cent of Victoria’s kerbside recycling across three facilities, but the materials have been piling up since China stopped accepting foreign waste.
Mary Lalios from the Municipal Association of Victoria said the state government had been collecting ratepayers’ cash through the landfill levy for the past decade and had not done enough.
‘‘It’s frustrating because this isn’t a problem that occurred overnight,’’ Ms Lalios said.
She said the federal and state governments needed to oversee the industry better, make better use of recycled materials and push for restrictions on materials such as some food packaging from being created in the first New perspective: place.
Victoria’s Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the situation was an opportunity for councils to overhaul their recycling contracts so there were contingencies in place, which in turn would boost competition between processing businesses.
‘‘This is why we invested $37 million to move a more efficient and resilient recycling system,’’ she said, citing an assistance payment when China’s recyclables refusal started to pinch.
‘‘We want competition in the market to encourage new operators to set up in Victoria and invest in equipment/infrastructure upgrades.’’
In meetings with the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Group yesterday, Ms D’Ambrosio urged councils to strengthen their contracts and agreements with SKM to stop it happening again.
She said the contracts needed to provide consistent services, not focus on getting the best commodity prices for recycled materials.
Recycling bins in Brimbank, Cardinia, Port Phillip and Casey will be collected as normal, but will be sent to landfill.
LONDON: British holidaymakers have been stocking up on euros as the March 29 Brexit date draws nearer, new figures suggest.
Post Office Travel Money, which accounts for one in four United Kingdom foreign exchange transactions, said there had been ‘‘strong demand’’ for euros in recent months, suggesting there was still a significant appetite to travel to Europe post-Brexit.
Euro sales are up three per cent year-onyear compared with January to mid-February last year, figures provided by Post Office Travel Money showed.
Sales of the euro also surged by five per cent year-on-year in November and December last year compared with the same months in 2017.
As well as planning holidays to Europe, some holidaymakers may be considering changing their money now because they are unsure about potential future currency swings in the uncertain political and economic climate.