Labor candidate’s plan for additional organic bin collection

A war of words between Labor and the incumbent LNP Lord Mayor over the future of Brisbane’s waste management has erupted.

Labor Lord Mayor candidate Tracey Price - Photo Steve Pohlner

Labor’s Brisbane lord mayor candidate has vowed the city’s prized weekly red bin collection is going nowhere under its ambitious plan to introduce additional free weekly organic food and garden waste collection across the city.

But Tracey Price cannot say exactly where the tonnes of extra organic waste will be processed or just how quickly the scheme will be rolled out if she is elected next month.

Labor Lord Mayor candidate Tracey Price - Photo Steve Pohlner

The plan has kicked off a war of words between Labor and the incumbent LNP Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner’s team who say similar schemes rolled out by other councils - including in Sydney - have forced the reduction of red bin collection from weekly to fortnightly to balance the books.

“These councils are cutting red bin collections to make their schemes stack up financially and to force households to reduce their waste, which is angering their residents,” LNP campaign spokeswoman Fiona Cunningham said

“Tracey Price and Labor have had months to tell residents how their radical bin plan will work but have refused. Only now on the eve of an election are they trying to claim they won’t cut red bin collections.”

Speaking exclusively to The Courier-Mail, Ms Price point-blank vowed that the frequency of the red bin collection across Brisbane would not change, and neither would the size of residents’ red bins.

“The red bin will not change, it is absolutely staying exactly the way it is, the weekly collection is staying exactly as it is,” she told The Courier-Mail.

Ms Price was less clear on the facilities in or around Brisbane that can process the proposed influx of Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) waste.

“I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me about waste management and being able to process organic waste, so we’re certainly looking at what is the best and most cost-effective option across our city,” she said.

Brisbane City Council rubbish bins. Photo: Facebook.

“We want to spend every dollar on the people of Brisbane, I am going to eliminate waste, literally, in the council budget.”

Labor believes no extra ratepayer funds are needed to implement its FOGO scheme.

They are confident they can get $25m from the state government’s GROW FOGO program, and then they plan to use $22m already allocated in the council budget to green waste recycling to supplement the start-up funding for the FOGO scheme.

Labor anticipates its FOGO scheme would remove 100,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill and compost it instead, saving residents millions in waste-levy charges.

The party estimates switching to FOGO will ultimately save Brisbane ratepayers more than $600m over the next 10 years by reducing rates.

Ms Price stressed that she would prioritise getting the FOGO scheme up and running as soon as possible, if elected, but she would not put a time frame on it.

Ms Price said every Brisbane resident would also be able to have a free green bin under the scheme. Currently green bins are opt in and cost $45 per year.

Originally published as Labor candidate’s plan for additional organic bin collection