No dog poo or tea bags in surprise change to WA FOGO bin rules

Western Australia's FOGO (food organics, garden organics) bin rules have undergone a surprise change, with the state government authority now excluding items like pet waste, tea bags, paper towels, and used pizza boxes. Previously allowed, these items are now restricted to general waste bins.

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What we've seen through [implementing] FOGO is it's so important that these waste streams are pure in what they're intended to be, otherwise they're contaminated and they can't be used for their intended recycling purpose.

The Waste Authority states the updated rules, published online, are intended to simplify sorting for households and ensure that only garden waste, unpackaged food waste, and certified compostable bin liners go into the green bins. This move aims to create 'pure' compostable material, preventing contamination that hinders effective recycling.

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PFAS is an acronym for polyfluoroalkyl substance, basically synthetic chemicals. They just don't break down and they basically infect everything in that waste stream.

Mark Irwin, Mayor of the City of Stirling and president of the WA local government association (WALGA), explained the rationale behind the changes. He highlighted that many items labeled as compostable, including some bin liners and takeaway containers, contain PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals.' These synthetic chemicals do not break down and can contaminate the entire waste stream. He stressed that even small amounts of contamination can have an 'exploding effect' on the collected volume.

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It doesn't take a lot [of contamination]. If you put the wrong forms of waste into these waste streams, they can actually create an exploding effect across the volume that's collected, and most of these are around the chemicals that are involved.

Irwin acknowledged that the changes might cause consternation for local councils, which have already faced significant community resistance to the FOGO program. The program reduced general waste bin collections from weekly to fortnightly, with the understanding that households could place more items in their green bins. He anticipates that further changes to FOGO could lead residents to demand the reinstatement of weekly general waste collection, noting that "people are struggling to understand."

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People are struggling to understand.