Wheelie Waste is currently contracted by Council to undertake kerbside collection, and under a separate arrangement, Wheelie Waste deliver recycled materials to Visy in Melbourne for processing.
Visy has been accessing markets in China for the processing of recycled materials, however recently the access to these markets has tightened considerably.
The impact of this has seen the Australian recycling industry needing to reassess the entire recycling system, including pricing arrangements.
In short, for Councils where the sorting and processing of recycle material is provided by Visy they will now incur a gate fee which was previously not imposed.
The financial impact of this to Greater Shepparton City Council is potentially more than $1m on an annual basis.
Council is continuing to discuss contractual arrangements and any implications of a possible price re-set.
At this stage interim negotiations have secured short-term arrangements to continue the kerbside recycle service, so it’s business as usual. The recycling issues do not impact on general waste or the green organics collection.
Council expects the State Government to make an announcement in relation to these complex matters early next week.
Council has called upon the State Government to assist Local Government communities by accessing the landfill levy to cover the new gate fee in the short to medium term.
Council again reinforces the point that the general waste and green collection are not impacted upon and that arrangements have been put in place to secure on-going kerbside recycle collection. We therefore ask our residents to continue recycling as normal as collection services remain unchanged.
Council will communicate on a regular basis as this recycling matter evolves and will make its next comment following the State Government announcement next week.
