MOUNT Gambier residents are urged to continue placing cardboard and paper in kerbside recycling bins despite a downturn in the market for the material.
This follows Green Triangle Recyclers now charging to take cardboard at their Eucalypt Drive facility.
Mount Gambier City Council city infrastructure general manager Nick Serle said the market value of cardboard had plummeted in recent weeks.
He said the price fall was not covering the contractor’s cost of processing and transportation and it could no longer take it free of charge.
“Despite this change, council remains committed to preventing cardboard and paper from ending up in landfill,” Mr Serle said.
“I encourage residents to continue recycling as they have always done, being mindful to not put contaminants in their recycling bins.
“It is only contamination from the recycling service that ends up in landfill.”
Amid the decline in the cardboard and paper market, Mr Serle said it was still more cost effective for council to recycle the product rather than send it to landfill.
“Sending materials unnecessarily to landfill results in the cell being filled much quicker which then becomes a costly exercise for both the council and the environment,” he said.
Following a meeting with Green Triangle Recyclers, Mr Serle said the kerbside recycling service would continue as usual to reduce the amount of material entering Caroline Landfill.
“Hopefully this is just a small bump in the recycling road and the market for cardboard does turn around in the near future but in the meantime we will continue to process the material as we always have,” he said.
Along with the recycling service, council also accepts a number of items free of charge at the waste transfer station.
The items include good quality re-usable items – suitable for resale at the ReUse Market – as well as televisions, computers and computer products, some types of polystyrene, liquid paint, motor oil, metals and
batteries.
