The shutdown of a recycling deposit location at a Yarra Ranges egg farm has sparked outrage from the community.
The Little Yarra Ranges Egg Farm announced on 17 December its recyclable container refund point was shut down by the network operator, Visy, for not performing its contractual obligations.
Little Yarra Ranges Egg Farm owners Greg and Sue Gimmill said they were shocked by the sudden closure.
“I was very angry and disappointed in Visy, it was just instant, there was no heads up this might be happening,” Mr Gimmill said.
After issuing a formal breach notice to the egg farm, Visy shut the site down on 18 December for breaching its contractual obligations.
But Little Yarra Ranges Egg Farm owners Greg and Sue Gimmill explained how Visy’s reasons for the closure were unfair.
“Every six months they come out and they go through and they’ll all find something. No matter what you do to try and improve, every time they come around you can never pass an audit,” Mr Gimmill said.
People travelled from towns as far as Neerim and Croydon to the farm for its convenience and sense of community, while the refund point’s high capacity made it perfect for small businesses and community organisations.
Here, they could cash in on recyclable containers as part of Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS Vic) – but now they’ve been left without an efficient place to handle their deposits.
Visy is the network operator for the CDS Vic North Zone and manages refund points in the area, dealing with non-compliance related issues.
Visy CDS general manager Tim O’Donnell said Visy ensures refund points can offer the best services in line with contractual and regulatory obligations.
“We understand how important it is for the community to return their containers close to where they live, learn or work.”
“Visy works closely with all sites to support compliance and help them operate within the scheme’s requirements.”
Visy suggested the newly installed reverse vending machine in Yarra Junction as an alternative, but Mr Gimmill said many weren’t a fan of the experience.
“That machine in Yarra Junction, I think within the second day of it being open, it was broken,” he said.
“Football clubs, sporting clubs, bowling clubs, CFA, numerous CFAs, the Upper Yarra SES, all those organisations come to us with bulk amounts.
“They’re not going to stand at a machine and feed into because at the end of the day they’re volunteers, they haven’t got hours up their sleeve to do it,” Mr Gimmill said.
After issuing a formal breach notice to the egg farm, Visy shut the site down on 18 December for breaching its contractual obligations.
Refund points run by community members have certain obligations, which include counting containers, checking them for eligibility, and not exceeding bin capacity, among others.
A couple of weeks after Visy audited the farm, they sent out a secret shopper and Mr Gimmill said they sighted someone depositing a 24 slab box of cans without counting them.
“We counted his [the secret shopper’s] stuff, no problems. But while he was here, he witnessed someone tipping a 24 slab box of cans straight into a bin without counting it. That was one of their reasons.”
“We’re like, well hang on a minute. We’ve been doing this for two years, it’s pretty obvious when a 24 slab of cans is 24 cans,” Mr Gimmill said.
Another reason for Visy’s termination was due to the farm not checking containers for eligibility.
But, Ms Gimmill said the farm checks for eligibility later when they’re emptying the containers into the bins.
“We can scan them for eligibility when we tip them in the bins later, it’s not an issue to get non-eligible items. You can still check that when you’re emptying them.”
Ms Gimmill said the farm also struggled to pass its audit as it kept exceeding bin capacity. Her requests for more bins were rejected by Visy and the farm was told to turn people away.
But she said part of the farm’s contractual obligations was to be open at least 26 hours a week.
“If our bins were full we’d just count the cans into bulk bags so we could keep taking material because we kind of presume this program is about recycling.
“We’re also required to be open a minimum of 26 hours a week, so if we fill our bins before that 26 hours and then can’t be open like we breach it in that manner”
An outpouring of community support has seen the Little Yarra Ranges Egg Farm’s social media posts gain over 170 comments and Eildon MP Cindy McLeish has offered to represent the community’s complaints.
The farm is seeking to have its refund point reinstated by Visy so it can continue to operate and serve the community.
