The McGowan Government has taken another step towards preserving Western Australia’s natural environment with the release of a new blueprint to manage waste.
The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030 will guide the State in becoming a sustainable, low-waste circular economy.
Historically, Western Australia has generated the highest volume of waste per capita in the nation, and has had among the lowest rates of waste recovery. Addressing our waste problem requires clear new targets and a comprehensive strategy from Government.
A cornerstone of the Waste Strategy is a new target that will ensure all Perth and Peel households will have a third kerbside bin for Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) by 2025.
Under the three-bin FOGO system, food scraps and garden organics are separated from other waste categories and reused to create high-quality compost.
Implementing this system will ensure Western Australia can meet the targets set out in the Waste Strategy; the amount of waste going to landfill is reduced; and more household waste is recovered, reused and recycled.
The McGowan Government will work with local governments to adopt the three-bin FOGO system and ensure it is rolled out successfully.
The Southern Metropolitan Regional Council trialled the FOGO system across 7,000 households in 2017. The trial received strong support from locals, and the City of Melville plans to roll it out permanently in June.
The State Government will work with regional councils to address their own unique waste challenges.
The ambitious targets outlined in the strategy – a 20 per cent reduction in waste generation per capita and a 75 per cent rate of material recovery by 2030 – will build on the momentum achieved by the introduction of the McGowan Government’s container deposit scheme in early 2020 and the ban on lightweight plastic bags.
The strategy is supported by an action plan that includes:
- A commitment to use more than 25,000 tonnes of recycled construction and demolition waste as road base under the Roads to Reuse program; and
- A strategic review of WA’s waste and recycling infrastructure by 2020 to guide future development.
As noted by Premier Mark McGowan:
“Western Australia has some of the highest rates of waste generation in the nation. This has to change.
“The Waste Strategy will help protect our unique natural environment and ensures we can become a cleaner, more environmentally sustainable State.
“This strategy provides an opportunity for all of us to work together to improve environmental outcomes, create jobs and support new and existing businesses.
“By rolling out the three-bin system across all metropolitan local governments, we will ensure more value is recovered from household waste. Many WA households have welcomed the system with open arms, and my Government will work with local governments to build on that success.
“By reducing the waste we send to landfill, we can generate significant economic opportunities for Western Australians – recycling 10,000 tonnes of waste creates three times more jobs than sending the same amount of waste to landfill.”
As noted by Environment Minister Stephen Dawson:
“The time to act on waste is now, and recognising that waste is a shared responsibility is the first step. We know the community are very supportive of better waste and recycling practices.
“We need all Western Australians to generate less waste, recover more value and resources from waste and to protect the Western Australian environment by managing waste responsibly.
“This Waste Strategy is a vision for all Western Australians – individuals, households, industries and businesses – to get on board and do their bit.
“The State Government will work collaboratively with local governments and the community to achieve these ambitious targets.”
Find the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030 on the Waste Authority’s .
