A MOUNT Gambier recycling firm which processes the city’s kerbside recycling waste believes around 30pc of materials delivered to its depot is being sent off to landfill.
Contamination and incorrect bin disposal contribute to the bulk of material transported from Green Triangle Recyclers to the Caroline Landfill, with owner Ian Weber revealing the company continued to evolve following changes to the China Sword Policy last year.
Mr Weber said recycling standards have tightened yet again as many countries around the world refuse to take on plastics, with China further limiting its intake of material due to high contamination rates.
“They now only take on very low contaminated cardboard and paper,” Mr Weber said.
“Anything identified with contamination they will not let in and will not unload it.
“They turn it all around and send it back to Australia.”
Despite the additional pressure on the Australian market, Mr Weber said the mountains of plastic previously stored on the premises had been reduced.
Forced to shift the business’ practices to meet the new standards, Mr Weber said the kerbside recycling industry was “not in jeopardy” in terms of market value.
Materials which had no market following the major international policy shake-up are now being cleared from the yard after being sent to Adelaide for further processing.
“Where we send it they separate it, shred it and then they sell it on themselves,” Mr Weber said.
“We are able to get rid of most of it, although it is at very low prices than previously.
“But there is a market for the plastics as well as milk bottles.”
Shopping bags are another material Mr Weber said was often disposed of in kerbside recycling, a material which cannot be reused.
“A lot of people are doing the wrong thing even if they think they are doing the right thing,” Mr Weber said.
“We do keep a positive outlook as we are able to get rid of most of the products at very low value.”
Recently, Green Triangle Recyclers received State Government funding to upgrade its Eucalypt Drive facility to enable better recovery of recyclable material from the waste stream.
Mount Gambier City Council environment sustainability officer Aaron Izzard said similar issues were being reported at Caroline Landfill, where a large amount of recyclable products end up in landfill.
“Around 25pc of what is in Mount Gambier’s landfill is actually recyclable,” Mr Izzard said.
“That means plastic, paper, cardboard and various other materials that should be in the recycling bin so then it can be turned into new products.”
Both Mr Izzard along with Mr Weber encouraged the Mount Gambier community to refer to the City Council website to clarify the correct disposal of household waste.
