Canberrans are being asked to put their yellow recycling bins out as normal, despite the centre that manages their contents being extensively damaged by fire.
The Materials Recovery Facility in Hume sorts, compresses and bails recyclables from Canberrans' yellow bins, and there is concern the building will be written off. The government is planning a replacement facility soon, and will now try to bring these plans forward. However, a new centre would be some way off.
In the meantime, the government hopes to eventually ship at least some of the recyclables elsewhere, likely Sydney, for sorting. Initially they will be taken to the tip.
"The ACT government is still encouraging ACT residents to continue to recycle using the yellow bin. We will be temporarily storing that material at Mugga Resource Management Center, while we will put in place alternative arrangements to process and transport that material," ACT City Services Minister Chris Steel said.
"We do think that in the medium term, we will need to transport that material to another ... facility, in a metropolitan area."
"There are a number in Sydney, including those operated by the chief operator here in the ACT, Re.Group," Mr Steel said.
The government is negotiating with the contractor that runs the facility, Re.group, and wants it to transport the recyclables to a facility large renough to handle them, likely in southern Sydney.
It is understood the plan would involve recycling trucks dumping at the tip, and then contents will be put into separate containers, and carted up to Sydney.
There was about 150 tonnes of recycling in the facility when it caught fire, and this time of year usually has a larger than normal volume going through the centre. This is partly as people are cleaning out their homes while on leave, and also for the packaging from Christmas gifts.
The centre processes material from Canberra and the nearby region.
"The Hume Materials Recovery Facility is one of the largest in Australia and processes approximately 60,000 tonnes per year of commingled recycling received from the ACT and several NSW local councils," according to the ACT government.
Earlier this year, the ACT said it expected tenders for the development to go out before the end of 2022, with design and construction expected to take around 18 months.
It's hoped a new recovery facility, responsible for sorting the contents of Canberra's yellow bins, will take ACT recycling from 5 per cent contamination to 2 per cent, levels considered crucial for building Australia's waste reprocessing industry.
Advanced optical sorters and robotics will be required new equipment, reducing manual labour for the few employees who currently sort recycling by hand.
What if I have excess recycling over the holidays?
Canberra does have drop-off points for excess recycling. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the centres are located in Tuggeranong, Phillip, Gungahlin, Mitchell and Belconnen. They accept anything generally dropped into yellow wheelie bins, including oversized cardboard boxes, glass bottles and jars, aluminium and steel cans and plastic bottles and containers.
Those facilities are located at:
- Jolly Street, Belconnen View map
- 3 O'Brien Place, Gungahlin View map
- 22-26 Baillieu Circuit, Mitchell View map
- 38 Botany Street, Phillip View map
- Scollay Street, Tuggeranong View map
