New Seymour facility offers recycling opportunity – The North Central Review

WITH a focus on sustainability and education, Seymour Resource Recovery Centre is more than a tip.
The $8 million centre at 470 Seymour-Tooborac Road, Hilldene, is designed to encourage recycling, reducing landfill and helping achieve council’s target of diverting 80 per cent of waste from landfill by 2030.
The two 88-metre-long structures create a 2450m2 undercover area offering a drive-through experience spanning two levels.
Drop-off areas are clearly labelled and colour coordinated to match bins at home, with customers disposing different recycling items along the circular route before reaching general waste bins.
Customers who sort their load into recyclables and non-recyclables could also save money, only paying to dispose waste and cover any extra charge on items that may be imposed on the facility to dispose of, such as mattresses.
The facility does not make money on the charges.
Landfill and resource recovery centre operations coordinator Paul Newcombe said the facility had moved away from old transfer stations with rough sorting to a recovery centre.
“It’s a much larger focus on recovery and recycling where available. We’re trying to encourage more people to come in and separate and recycle as much as we can,” he said.
“A lot of people come in here with the mindset ‘I don’t want what I’ve got but I have to pay to get rid of it’ so they’re angry when they get here.
“Now when you talk to people to say when you separate your load it’s going to be $40 not $80, for example, that whole mindset changes.
“When you’ve got nice facilities people treat the experience happily – that’s how I see it.
“Staff are always cleaning, always making sure they’ve got good customer service skills and they know their jobs so hopefully people come in.
“I think the big thing we’re just trying to get is a mindset change.”
An education centre is available where groups and schools can learn what happens at the centre and about recycling.
There is also resale shop were saleable are available at a low price.
The store is designed so a not-for-profit group can run the shop separate to operations at the facility.
“It just gets items out of the waste stream so it doesn’t end up in landfill, which is our ultimate aim,” Mr Newcombe said.
Council owns the landfill near the facility and are building two new cells with space remaining for one additional cell.
“My view is we extend that use by minimising waste going into it. A new landfill will be $60 million if you can get one,” Mr Newcombe said.
“Council is not going to spend $60 million they don’t have. The problem we’re trying to change is the negative attitude.”
Seymour Resource Recovery Centre is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 4pm.
It is closed Christmas Day, New Years Day, Good Friday, and Total Fire Ban and Code Red days.

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