EPA orders another recycling facility linked to SKM to stop accepting waste

A glass recycling centre linked to embattled company SKM has been ordered by the Environmental Protection Authority to stop accepting combustible waste due to its existing stockpiles being non-compliant.

Glass Recovery Services operates a glass recycling operation in Coolaroo and holds an EPA licence.

It was the site of two fires earlier this year attended by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (March 29 and April 12).

The EPA’s Resource Recovery Facilities Audit Taskforce Manager Danny Childs, said the company had failed to comply with previous EPA notices, and its current stockpiles posed a risk to the community.

“A large volume of glass waste it has received at the site has been contaminated with other types of waste, such as mixed plastics and paper and has resulted in an increased fire risk within stockpiles”, he said.

Glass Recovery Services is also the subject of an EPA investigation after failing to remove combustible and industrial waste from its Coolaroo site earlier this year.

But parent company SKM had better news in the Supreme Court, which this afternoon granted an adjournment in wind-up proceedings over DEBTS totalling millions of dollars.

The court cited environmental concerns, impact on employees and potential funds from sale of the company.

In an affidavit filed with the court, SKM General Manager Robert Italiano said the company’s closure would likely result in 400,000 tonnes of recycled material being redirected to landfill each year.

He said the company provided recycling services to approximately 30 Victorian councils, and was subject to “push” model contracts; that require SKM to accept recyclable material, regardless of whether it has the capacity to store or process it.

Dubbed a "rogue operator" by the state government, the company’s sites have suffered a series of fires, leading to a crackdown by the environmental watchdog for licence breaches, including stockpiling material.

The company says it is in the final stages of negotiation to be bought out, by an un-named purchaser.

Tasman Logistics has taken the recycler to court, after SKM failed to meet a May deadline to pay debts totalling $3.358 million for logistics, freight and storage services.

A number of other companies also claim SKM owes them hundreds of thousands of dollars each.

Premier Daniel Andrews has declined to comment on the outlook of Victoria's recycling services until after Wednesday's court outcome.