Western Australia’s Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) authority is launching a new bin tagging program in select households across the region.
SMRC is undertaking the education program on behalf of three councils, with funding support from the state government, administered by the Waste Authority.
According to SMRC Chairperson Doug Thompson, bin tagging is part of the rollout of the new three-bin FOGO system that was implemented in 2019 in the City of Melville, City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle.
Mr Thompson said the program aims to educate residents about how to use the new system and provide individual feedback to improve their efforts at home.
“Recycling is a shared responsibility,” he said.
“By everyone working together to ensure they put the right thing in the right bin, we can help create a less contaminated waste stream.”
Community Waste Education Officers will work in pairs to make a visual inspection of the bin’s contents prior to collection.
“They will check for contamination, such as recyclables in the general waste bin, or contamination in the FOGO and recycling bins,” Mr Thompson said.
“Following inspection, they will place a ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ tag on the handle of the bin, which provides feedback about how well residents are using the bins or what can be improved.”
Mr Thompson said the program will focus on education rather than enforcement.
“Similar programs in other local government areas have shown most residents are interested in doing the right thing when it comes to separating their waste if they are given the correct information,” Mr Thompson said.
“In a small number of cases where residents’ bins show repeated high contamination following several visits, the bin will not be collected.”
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