By David Kavanagh | posted on December 5, 2019
A WASTE collection service originally scheduled to launch in Albany in January will not get underway until mid-2020 after councillors voted to defer it at last week’s council meeting.
The Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collection service will require residents to separate their food and garden waste into green bins when it launches in around six months.
It will be implemented alongside the Better Bins initiative, which will see urban households in Albany designated bin lids consistent with Australian standard colours.
This includes red for general waste and yellow for recycling.
City Executive Director of Development, Infrastructure and Environment Paul Camins said the postponement of the FOGO service was the best outcome for the community.
“By implementing FOGO in mid-2020, the City of Albany can ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible for residents, with clear communication for all,” he said.
“The FOGO service will keep food waste from landfill and recycle nutrients into quality compost while helping Albany residents be more aware of how much waste their households make.
“Making sure all households have the same coloured bin lids will make it easier for us to communicate what goes in each bin and reduce confusion and contamination across the board.”
A report tabled at a Development and Infrastructure Services Committee meeting on November 13 stated the City had “no facility capable of accepting FOGO waste” (‘FOGO may be deferred’, 21 November).
It noted its Greenwaste Processing Contractor was implementing modifications to “accept, transport and process food waste” but that these were unlikely to be in place by January.
