Residents of Stirling and Cockburn must now dispose of meat trays and polystyrene in their general waste bin. Photos by Emily Farmer
By Emily Farmer
A number of Perth councils have been hit by a national recycling crisis after a decision by China to stop taking Australian waste exports.
China recently announced it would no longer be accepting plastic and paper waste from Australia.
As a result, Perth’s three recycling facilities have been forced to make changes to the things Perth households can recycle.
That’s had a knock-on effect to residents in regions like Cockburn and Stirling.
Recycling facility Suez handles waste for both councils.
It’s become the most recent facility to make the change, banning household items like aerosol cans, soft plastics and meat trays from recycling bins.
Craig Barker, Suez State General Manager, said the changes were a direct result of China’s policy.
“Aerosol cans are better disposed of through your local council’s hazardous waste drop off because of the explosion risk,” he said.
The City of Cockburn has installed roadside billboards to notify residents of the change.
“There’s a lot of confusion about what meat trays are made of, so they’re treated as a contaminant just to be safe… and we ask they be thrown in the general waste bin.”
City of Stirling Mayor, Mark Irwin was disappointed with the outcome of the changes.
“Unfortunately, the global waste market continues to impact the companies that collect and sort our waste,” he said.
“The residents of Stirling are really proactive when it comes to recycling though and I know they will continue to recycle what they can.”
The City of Cockburn declined to comment on the changes