Ratepayers fork out $1.2m to help solve WA's three-bin problem
Organic waste from WA's second-largest city will be trucked to Perth at the cost to ratepayers of $1.2 million a year, following the collapse of local processing.
The City of Bunbury was the first South West council to introduce FOGO back in 2013. (ABC South West: Kate Stephens)
Bunbury will spend $1.2m a year to truck food and organic waste to Perth to be processed for compost.
A waste expert says trucking food waste negates some environmental benefits, but insists the system should be maintained.
The state government says it will continue working on a longer-term solution for food and organic waste processing in the region.
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.
Mr Miguel said the council would try to cut costs by looking to share transport with neighbouring shires and pushing for higher government subsidies.
Bunbury's organic waste was once processed locally, but now it will be redirected to Perth to be turned into compost. (ABC South West: Bridget McArthur)
"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.
Jaysen de San Miguel says sending FOGO to Perth is only an interim measure until a permanent and local solution is found. (ABC South West: Sam Bold)
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.
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.
Cr Miguel acknowledged his community's patience through a "frustrating peri
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