Bin system in major Aussie city set to be shaken up
Red waste bins in one capital city will be downsized and collected only fortnightly under a dramatic push to promote recycling.
WA News
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Red waste bins in Perth will be downsized and collected only fortnightly under a State Government push to meet resource recovery targets.
Perth residents will receive a new 240L lime green-lidded bin that is collected weekly for food scraps, garden waste and some paper products.
The red-lidded general waste bins will be downsized to 140L and collected fortnightly.
Yellow recycle bins will remain the same size and will be collected fortnightly.
The West Australian Government has asked all local councils to adopt the three-bin food organics and garden organics (FOGO) system by June 2026, which is a key milestone in its Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030.
The FOGO system is designed to “improve recovery rates, increase diversion from landfill and reduce costs of processing material,” according to Recycle Right WA, by encouraging people to separate food scraps and garden waste from their general waste.
The contents from the lime green-lidded FOGO bins can then be recycled into materials, such as compost, mulch and soil conditioner, which can be re-used.
The system is slated to be implemented in the City of Rockingham by June 30 2025, with residents currently receiving a ‘FOGO-ready kit’ including a kitchen caddy, two rolls of certified compostable caddy liners, and a guide on how to FOGO.
Rockingham resident Leanne lashed the changes, saying the move was a poor use of council funds.
“Good grief! It’s hard enough remembering what bin on what week as it is,” she said.
“I’m not keen on our shire wasting money on pathetic little ‘kitchen food scraps bins’ when I refuse to have any bin in my kitchen and am happy to bury food scraps in the vegetable garden or put in the worm farm.
“Definitely not happy about being told what to do in this regard.”
City of Rockingham Mayor Deb Hamblin welcomed the initiative and encouraged residents to embrace the change.
“It’s exciting to see the final stages of FOGO about to be rolled-out,” she said.
“With this initiative, we’ll join over 20 other local governments across Western Australia, working to drastically reduce the amount of household waste sent to landfill.”
The system is supported by the State Government’s $20 million Better Bins Plus: Go FOGO program.
FOGO is currently available to 22 local governments in the Perth, Peel and South West regions and It’s expected nine more local governments in Perth will introduce FOGO by June 2026.
The NSW Government has also mandated the FOGO system for all households by 2030, and in Victoria, of green-lid FOGO will be available to all households receiving a council waste service by the end of June 2027.
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