The WA Government has released its Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030 to guide the state in becoming a sustainable, low-waste circular economy.
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. It also includes a strategic review of WA’s waste and recycling infrastructure by 2020 to guide future development.
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.
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.
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The government in a statement said 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 WA 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 7000 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 WA Government’s container deposit scheme in early 2020 and the ban on lightweight plastic bags.
Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said the state government will work collaboratively with local governments and the community to achieve these ambitious targets.
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