Waste from western Victoria will be crucial to the viability of a proposed regional recycling facility in South Australia.
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It comes as a local kerbside collector continues pushing for agreements on how to process green waste in the Wimmera.
South Australian representatives of the Limestone Coast Local Government Authority's seven member councils have got the "green light" to approach their counterparts in western Victoria.
Wimmera Mallee Waste oversees the kerbside collection of waste in West Wimmera, Glenelg, Hindmarsh and Yarriambiack Shires.
Director Mick Parry, of Rainbow, said he had not been approached by the LCLGA but welcomed the proposal.
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"We belive there is merit in a regional facility," he said.
"Somewhere to value-add or take away the products that aren't meant to be in there - garden waste or nappies - would have a value to us.
"Currently we are paid to transport the wrong product down to Melbourne, which should just go to landfill. The other area we are putting effort into (advocating for) is turning green waste into a product that has some value, such as compost or fertiliser.
"That's something our side of the state is looking for as well. There is an expectation from the state government that every council must eventually provide green waste collection."
Since last year, Mr Parry has been sending recycling to VISY and Cleanaway's facilities in Melbourne, after its relationship with troubled recycling provider SKM ended. SKM went into receivership in August 2019, and was bought out by Cleanaway.
He said a regional facility could make recycling cheaper for the businesses involved, and for residents by extension.
"If you have a (regional) sorting facility, the product almost always ends up getting transport to Melbourne anyway," he said.
"So the strength of a regional facility is you're not taking Melbourne to roduct that has a negative value, product that's not supposed to be there. It just goes to landfill, which has a lower gate fee than metro landfills."
Limestone Coast Local Government Association executive officer Tony Wright said discussions with chief executives from western Victorian councils have revealed many are interested in learning more about the potential facility.
Mr Wright said a study conducted by the University of South Australia suggested that the proposed facility could be viable, but its future relied heavily on including waste from western Victoria.
"There are currently around 65,000 people living in the Limestone Coast, and that figure is around the same in western Victoria," Mr Wright said.
Transporting recyclable waste to facilities in Adelaide is a costly procedure, so having a regional facility for a population of around 130,000 people would provide numerous benefits.
Mr Wright said he was happy with the progress that made so far.
"It is coming along nicely - we are creating a strong business case to have a regional recycling facility in the area," Mr Wright said.
"Having access to Federal Government funding is looking positive - the Federal Budget announced almost $250 million for recycling infrastructure."
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Mr Wright said another key aspect of realising the proposed facility was working with Environmental Protection Authorities from South Australia and Victoria.
"We need to make sure both EPAs are comfortable - we are currently looking into how the different environmental regulations work in each state," Mr Wright said.
No location has been named for the potential regional recycling facility, however, it is increasingly likely that the facility would be best suited near Mount Gambier.
Plenty of aspects still need to be discussed before a regional facility can come to fruition, but the benefits for the Limestone Coast and western Victoria are clear to see.
Following an inquiry into recycling and waste management in 2019, which recommended among other things that incentives to transport waste materials from other jurisdictions be removed, the Victorian government announced a gradual overhaul of the system.
This will see every home have four waste and recycling bins by 2030, and $100 million spent to allow more local processing of recycling.
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