Ratepayers fork out $1.2m to help solve WA's three-bin problem

Ratepayers are set to foot the bill in a bid to resurrect Western Australia's three-bin FOGO waste management system from collapse outside of Perth.

The City of Bunbury is set to spend $1.27 million a year to truck its residents' food and organic waste more than 150km to Perth, following the collapse of local processing.

The South West region's Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) waste has been sent directly to landfill since late 2024, when high contamination rates halted local processing.

But Bunbury councillors voted this week to spend an extra $695,000 a year to redirect the waste to a FOGO processing facility in Perth.

Bunbury Mayor Jaysen Miguel said sending the organic waste to landfill was already costing the council $574,000 a year.

"We're not going to hide from the fact that this costs more — our community deserves honesty,"

he said.

Mr Miguel said the council would try to cut costs by looking to share transport with neighbouring shires and pushing for higher government subsidies.

"This is around the long-term future and what we want to be doing as leaders in the community," Cr Miguel said.

The transport costs of FOGO from the South West are being partly subsidised by a state government rebate of $95 per tonne.

The state government told the ABC there were no plans to increase the rebate.

FOGO 'hasn't failed'

The City of Bunbury was the first South West council to introduce the FOGO system back in 2013, which one local councillor described as an "expensive failure" earlier this year.

Cr Miguel defended the council's persistence with FOGO.

"I don't think it's failed,"

Cr Miguel said.

He stressed Perth processing was an interim measure, while work continued on re-establishing local processing.

He will now write to the state government asking for support for a long-term solution and investment in a local processing facility.

"A big conversation is, what sort of tonnages would you need to make this viable?" he asked.

Residents frustrated

Cr Miguel acknowledged his community's patience through a "frustrating period".

Bunbury ratepayer Linton Hodsdon said trucking FOGO to Perth undermined the environmental ethos of the program.

"Trucking stuff around the country blows the environmental equation,"

he said.

"That's fuel, carbon pollution, and damage to infrastructure that happens when you transport stuff around."

Mr Hodsdon said the focus should be on fixing the multimillion-dollar local processing facility at Banksia Road, managed by the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council (BHRC).

FOGO transport too expensive

The BHRC facility was central to the South West's FOGO system, with seven local councils sending their waste there for processing.

Bunbury is now one of the only councils in the region to resume FOGO processing, with others electing to continue sending organic waste to landfill.

The neighbouring Shire of Capel voted this week not to send its FOGO waste to Perth.

Even with government subsidies, Capel Shire President John Fergusson said it was not viable.

"The current costs associated with transporting FOGO to Perth are cost-prohibitive,"

he said.

Mr Fergusson urged the state government to direct its $4.5m FOGO rebate package towards re-establishing local processing.

“We firmly believe that working and advocating alongside our neighbours, on a regional approach and long-term solution, is the best outcome for all and should be a priority," he said.

The Shire of Harvey also refused to take up the rebate earlier this year.

2030 organic waste target

Environmental waste experts said long-distance transport of FOGO waste negated some environmental benefits, but insisted it was important to take a broader perspective.

Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association chief executive Gayle Sloan said it was important to adhere to a national waste action plan aiming to take 50 per cent of organic waste out of landfill by 2030.

"We know that organics in landfill create significant methane, which is bad for the environment,"

she said.

Deakin University environmental science lecturer Trevor Thornton said any lapse in FOGO processing would make re-educating residents a challenge.

"[If] you say to residents, 'stop now … but we might start a little bit later', you're going to have the same problems."