Recycling refund request

By Kate Taylor

Moorabool Shire Council is writing to the state government asking for a refund of the money it has had to pay to dump waste in landfill.

West Ward Councillor Tom Sullivan put forward a motion at the September 4 council meeting to write to Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio to ask for money paid by council as the ‘landfill levy’ be refunded.

The move follows the collapse of SKM Recycling this year, leaving councils with no alternative but to dump recycling at landfills.

“Currently, because of the recycling crisis, our council and other councils in the region – and probably across the whole state – are taking recycling to landfill and anything you take to landfill, you pay the landfill levy,” Cr Sullivan told the Moorabool News.

“I asked to Request of the Minister that the landfill levy on the recycling going to landfill be waived because of the situation we find ourselves in with SKM in difficulty, because fundamentally the government is making money out of it because the levy goes to them.”

Cr Sullivan is looking for a proper response from the state government.

“I think it’s a sign of good faith for the state government to say, ‘during this crisis we’ll just waive the landfill levy.’ The situation is, our ratepayers will be made to pay the landfill levy on what’s going to recycling – I think it’s unjust.”

Councillors voted in favour of the motion and the letter will be sent.