Melville to trial new food and garden bins

By Mollie Tracey The City of Melville will trial a three-bin Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) waste system, set to roll-out in October. The project is a collaboration between the City of Melville, City of Fremantle, the Town of East Fremantle, and as the Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC). SMRC chairperson and councillor Cameron Schuster says the FOGO system will divert waste from going to landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “The new system will provide more options for residents to separate their waste with the aim of producing a cleaner compost, sending less waste to landfill and reducing costs, Mr Schuster says. The trial will involve 7,000 City of Melville residents who will receive a new 240litre lime-green lid bin for FOGO waste to be collected weekly. Householders will get a kitchen compost caddy and compostable bin liners to assist in collecting and separating waste within the home. A smaller general waste bin this one with a red lid for non-recyclable and non-compostable rubbish that will be collected fortnightly along with the yellow-lid recycle bin. This project is the first of its kind in Western Australia, however the FOGO system has been implemented in other parts of Australia. Some WA councils  have a three-bin system, but they do not cater for food organics, which go to landfill. Melville City resident Cameron Leaning is pleased that local government is taking action to better the environment. “Introducing an organics waste bin is a great idea – I can’t believe it hasn’t been done already,” Mr Leaning says. The City of Melville says educating the community on how to use the system will be one of the most important aspects of the project. Failing to dispose of waste properly could result in cross-contamination of the waste systems. The trial will cost about $850,000, which will be funded by the local governments and a grant from the Waste Authority..