A new waste collection system has been introduced in Perth suburbs, but not everyone is happy about it. What was meant to improve waste management has instead sparked frustration among residents. Many are questioning whether the roll-out was properly planned and whether it will actually achieve its intended goals.
As concerns grow, should local authorities reconsider their approach?
The Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins roll-out, which is part of the Western Australian government’s broader strategy to implement these bins across all metropolitan local governments by 2025, has been met with a mix of confusion, frustration, and outright anger.
The heart of the issue is a significant alteration to the waste collection schedule and bin sizes that many residents feel is ill-considered and impractical.
In some council areas, the familiar red-lidded waste bins, which were once emptied weekly, will now see their collections reduced to a fortnightly schedule. Meanwhile, the introduction of a new bin for green waste has resulted in a smaller bin for regular household rubbish. This change is set to take effect in Kwinana from late April and in Rockingham from June, leaving many to wonder how they’ll manage their waste effectively.
The discontent has manifested in petitions, with one garnering over 2,500 signatures. Residents like Thomas Soderholm, a Rockingham local of 30 years, have voiced their concerns loud and clear. With a household of seven, including a toddler still in nappies, Soderholm predicts a stinky situation on the horizon.
‘Imagine if you have a crayfish party? In this case, it’s nappies galore,’ he lamented, highlighting the potential for bins to attract vermin and become a smelly nuisance.
Despite these concerns, a motion to review the FOGO policy was shelved by Rockingham councillors in March last year.
Kwinana Mayor Peter Feasey, on the other hand, has championed the new system, touting its environmental benefits and the potential for garden waste to be turned into valuable compost. Yet, residents remain sceptical, with some pointing out that those living on rural properties already have sustainable waste management practices in place.
In Western Australia, the initiative is encapsulated in the mantra, ‘If it didn’t live or grow, it’s not FOGO.’
However, the practicality of this system is under scrutiny, especially when considering the size of the bins provided. In Rockingham, for example, residents will have a 360L recycling bin, a 240L green waste bin, and a mere 140L general waste bin, which many argue is too small for larger families.
The City of Kwinana and the City of Rockingham have been contacted for comment, but as of now, the roll-out is proceeding as planned, per news.com.au. This leaves residents with a pressing question: How will they adapt to these changes without compromising their daily lives and the cleanliness of their neighbourhoods?
We invite you, our readers, to share your thoughts and experiences with waste management changes in your areas. Have you faced similar challenges with new bin systems or waste collection schedules? How have you and your community adapted? Discuss them with fellow YourLifeChoices readers in the comments below.
Also read: Waste sorting made easy: Decoding bin lid colours in every state
Just another example why local councils are obsolete, need to be disbanded and totally restructured…… self indulgent overpaid flogs only good at spending money on themselves need to be fired.
System works fine, 8 years I’ve been using it without dramas.
In our local Council area in NSW we have had a FOGO bin for a couple of years now – and I love it. All green waste and most food waste goes into the bin and it is collected weekly.
The yellow lidded Recycling bin is collected fortnightly.
The red general household bin is also collected weekly (at this stage) and has not changed in size.
In NSW if residents need more than one bin Council supplies it (I believe at an annual charge) and the Air BNB’s in our area usually have 2 red and 2 yellow bins.
We are in NSW and the red bin has reduced in size. Parramatta Council. It’s now bursting at the seams every week while the green bin, the bigger size, generally has one poly bag full of food waste and is collected weekly. What a load of rubbish !
Well it’s Perth, full of Poms, and they whinge a lot about everything.
When we moved to Wodonga Vic 8 years ago the same system was already in place and works fine. I have not heard anyone complaining.
Obviously people who made those decisions didn’t think originally, but surely after all these months experimenting themselves, they should see what is obvious.
The change should be:
green bin for food scraps, small size because food thrown out for composting is minimal; weekly collection.
red for normal household, according to families’ size, should be increased on demand for bigger household with no extra charge as rubbish rates are the same; should be collected weekly as some items really smell and are unhygienic.
yellow bin, recycling, same as red, on demand; because it’s clean rubbish, it can be kept for monthly collection, again according to household size and occasional extra fortnight collection with no extra charge.
Why are they complaining? We’ve had the 3 bin system (ACT, Queanbeyan, Albury, and now Wagga) for over 25 years.
The collection of our regular rubbish & recyclables are fortnightly, one week rubbish and the other week the recyclables, and the ‘green’ waste is weekly. I’ve never had any problems with it.
I am in country Victoria and currently have a 140L general waste bin, emptied weekly, and a 240L recycling bin, emptied fortnightly. We are due to also get a FOGO bin, 240L I believe, for disposing of food scraps and garden waste, mid this year to 2025, which I am looking forward to. Unsure at this stage on frequency of emptying. We currently have a private company who offer a garden waste bin for anyone who would like to utilise their service. I could probably go fortnightly with my general waste bin, as I do not have a lot of waste, and don’t always need to put my recycling bin out fortnightly. Plastic bottles and cans go to the local recycling depot to be cashed in.
This is nothing new…we have been like this for years…it forces people to reconsider how they are disposing of rubbish and don’t we hate changing….Tips are getting more expensive and it’s time we all did our part