An inspection of SKM Services Pty Ltd by Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) officers on Wednesday 20 March 2019 has determined the company has met the conditions of the notices served on it and is now able to resume accepting recyclable waste materials at its Coolaroo site.
On 15 February 2019 EPA alleged SKM was not in compliance with the Victorian Waste Management Policy and could no longer accept recyclable waste materials at their Laverton North and Coolaroo sites.
At the time, EPA CEO Dr Cathy Wilkinson said there were concerns that in the event of a fire at either site, large amounts of plastic materials could likely generate significant community impacts from smoke and that SKM and the recycling industry generally had had ample time to become compliant with the Policy.
SKM bought its Laverton North site into compliance on 12 March and EPA’s inspection of the Coolaroo site confirmed it too had regained compliance. SKM’s Geelong site was voluntarily closed by the company but has now reopened bringing three of the state’s major recycling sites back into service.
‘EPA took the decision to close the Coolaroo and Laverton North sites to protect the community from the risk of a major fire,’ said Dr Wilkinson.
‘We are satisfied that SKM now meets the conditions outlined in our notices and is again compliant. However, EPA will continue to inspect the Laverton North and Coolaroo sites to ensure they remain compliant.’
On 8 March, 2019, EPA said that it would pursue SKM and an SKM director for breaches of the Environment Protection Act 1970.