Ararat and Horsham councils have dispelled fears that household recycled waste in the municipalities might be destined for landfill.
Both have issued statements reassuring recycling services will continue as usual despite a Victorian recycling crisis.
Ararat chief executive Tim Harrison and his Horsham counterpart Sunil Bhalla echoed each other in declaring services unaffected by an Environment Protection Authority order for SKM Material Recycling to stop accepting materials at Coolaroo and Geelong sites.
Both confirmed the municipalities were sending recycling material through Visy for processing.
“Ararat Rural City Council does not use the affected company, SKM, but instead uses Visy Recycling to process its recycling collections,” Dr Harrison said.
“As a result, our residents recycling is not going to landfill, and the council definitely has not levied a ‘bin tax’. All our waste fees and charges are set within our annual budget and if we were to change these, we would need to go through a legislative process that requires public consultation and engagement.
“I encourage all our residents to keep sorting their waste and recycling as normal, because this municipality is not at all affected by the current issues.
“So please keep sorting your waste and putting out your recycling bin as normal,” he said.