Recycling company charged with environmental offences over huge Coolaroo blaze

The huge fire at the Coolaroo recycling plant, in Melbourne's north, burned through piles of paper recycling.

SKM Recycling and its director have been charged with environmental offences following a large fire at their recycling facility at Coolaroo, in Melbourne's north, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) says.

The July 2017 blaze burned for several days and led to the evacuation of more than 100 homes.

The EPA said the fire caused significant pollution that potentially harmed local residents and the environment.

"EPA can confirm that SKM Services Pty Ltd and its director have been charged with relevant offences under the Environment Protection Act 1970," the EPA's CEO Cathy Wilkinson said in a statement.

"As this matter is now before the courts, further comment would be inappropriate."

Earlier this year, the EPA banned the company — which receives about half of Victoria's kerbside recycling across three sites — from accepting material at its Coolaroo and Laverton North sites.

In a written statement released in February, the EPA said inspections of the company's stockpiles revealed safety regulation breaches which led to the agency's decision to shut down the facilities until they were compliant with regulations.

Cathy Wilkinson, chief executive of the EPA, said in February that the large plastic stockpiles at the facilities posed a real fire risk to local communities.

"Fire water run-off could also enter waterways and have long-lasting impacts on the environment due to the toxic contaminants," Dr Wilkinson said.

On Feburary 20, the company advised councils a third Victorian site — its South Geelong facility — had reached capacity and it would not be accepting waste "for the next few weeks".

The decision left about 30 Victorian councils struggling to find somewhere to dispose of their recyclable waste, with much of it being diverted to landfill.

The ABC has contacted SKM for comment.