NEWS DESK
Frankston avoids recycling crisis
Supermarket debate: Frankston councillors argued over whether Ritchies Towerhill would be affected by the opening of a new supermarket. Picture: Gary Sissons
Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au
Council rejects supermarket proposal FRANKSTON councillors have voted to reject a proposal for a supermarket at the Frankston Power Centre. The proposal put forward would have seen the current sites of a Spotlight and Forty Winks combined for a new 4,520 square metre supermarket, but the plan was stopped in its tracks. Councillors voted to reject a permit, with Cr Colin Hampton arguing the negative effect on the nearby Towerhill IGA would be too large. Cr Hampton moved an alternate motion to reject a permit as “the proposed supermarket will have a negative economic impact on the ongoing viability of the supermarkets and businesses in the vicinity of the proposed development.” That motion passed 5 votes to 3, with Crs Glenn Aitken, Kris Bolam, and Michael O’Reilly voting against it.
Cr Steve Toms was very critical of the supermarket proposal. He said it would “drive an ice pick through the heart of small business” in the area. He said the proposal was an “absolute travesty” and that council should not allow “this mammoth supermarket to engulf [Towerhill’s] customer base.” Cr Aitken argued in favour of issuing a permit. He said that “the market is driven by market forces. The reality is to survive in small business you have to provide something that is alternate. If you’re in small business and trying to compete with supermarkets, it’s not going to work.” The mayor Cr O’Reilly said “I simply believe it’s supermarket versus supermarket. The market dictates itself.” He said concerns about the Towerhill precinct were unwarranted, as servic-
es there including the pizza shop and Thai restaurant would not typically be affected by a new supermarket. Cr Bolam said rejecting the proposal would be a case of “protectionism”. “We’re supporting local businesses at the cost of rejecting others,” he said. “I appreciate the hardships, but it would be foolhardy to go with the alternate recommendation.” Cr Hampton said that the argument of “protectionism is folly.” He argued that council should ensure that a supermarket is “kept to a size where it won’t affect businesses in the area.” “This will have an effect in Karingal and the CAD,” he said. “Richies will suffer.” Cr O’Connor noted that a VCAT appeal was likely. Brodie Cowburn
FRANKSTON Council are not among the 20 councils that have been forced to dump their recycling in landfill in the wake two SKM facilities being shut down. Frankston mayor Michael O’Reilly told The Times that “the collection and processing of around 550-600 tonnes of recyclable waste each fortnight will continue as usual.” “Frankston City Council recycling collection and processing is managed by Solo Resource Recovery and Polytrade,” he said. “Council would like to take this opportunity to remind all residents to reduce the contamination of recyclables by rinsing containers before placing them in their recycling bins.” Neighbouring councils in Kingston and Mornington have been swept up in the crisis and have had to divert hundreds of tonnes of recycled material into landfill. Kingston Council made an “urgent” deal with recycling provider Polytrade to save some of the municipality’s recycling waste from landfill. Kingston mayor Georgina Oxley said that the deal with Polytrade will see 20 per cent of Kingston’s recycling per day saved from landfill. “It is extremely disappointing that Kingston, along with many other councils, has been forced to tempo-
rarily divert recycling to landfill,” she said. “Kingston has managed to ensure 20% of all recyclable materials are sent for proper processing to Polytrade each day. However, Polytrade are limited by their plant capacity. Unfortunately, the balance of collected materials continues to be sent to landfill.” As of 20 February, approximately 240 tonnes of recyclable material from the Kingston municipality had ended up in landfill. “We are working to minimise the disruption,” Cr Oxley said. “Some community members have voluntarily held off on putting out their recycling bin for a fortnight to minimise the amount of waste sent to material and we appreciate their assistance. “We hope to have our recycling service back up and running very soon, so I would urge the community to keep up their good habits and keep sorting your recycling material as normal.” 130 tonnes of the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s recyclable waste are being “temporarily” stored at the transfer station in Rye, which is now at capacity. Shortcomings in the state’s recycling operations were exposed on 15 February when the EPA ordered processing giant SKM to stop drops at its Coolaroo and Laverton sites over concerns the stockpiled plastic posed a fire hazard.
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5 March 2019
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