Millions of Australians have been left surprised by a quiet change to bins across an entire state from now.
Western Australia has changed its rules, excluding previously allowed items such as pet poo, tea bags and pizza boxes.
FOGO bins, which stand for Food, Organics and Garden Organics, are typically for fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, bones, seafood, dairy, cheese, bread, rice, pasta and eggs.
Garden organics consist of grass clippings, small branches, weeds and flowers.
Pet poo has been banned from FOGO bins in WA. Picture: iStock
Now, due to a small rule change that was quietly updated by the WA Waste Authority, some items — including pet poo, tea bags, paper towels and pizza boxes — are now banned.
The change was made on July 10, and local councils are sharing the news with their local residents.
The changes put WA in line with most other states, where it is not allowed to put dog poo in the bin in NSW, Victoria, and the ACT.
You can still put dog poo in compostable or paper bags in the FOGO bin in South Australia and Tasmania. FOGO is not currently rolled out in the Northern Territory.
The changes were quietly updated online on July 10. Picture: Supplied
Why are there new rules?
PerthNow reports that a Department of Water and Environmental Regulation spokesperson explained the changes were made to avoid confusion.
“FOGO works best when households keep it simple by putting food scraps and garden waste in the bin — the list was amended to reduce confusion and help households sort with confidence,” the spokesperson said.
But City of Stirling mayor and president of the WA Local Government Association Mark Irwin told ABC Radio the changes would mean the FOGO material could be composted effectively.
“What we’ve seen through (implementing) FOGO is it’s so important that these waste streams are pure in what they’re intended to be, otherwise they’re contaminated and they can’t be used for their intended recycling purpose,” he said.
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Many WA residents have resisted the rollout of FOGO bins across the past two years. Picture: Supplied
“The changes that are being implemented are effectively to make sure that the waste is more pure.”
He said many takeaway containers and cups labelled as compostable were not compatible with current systems, nor were some cardboards.
“If you put the wrong forms of waste into these waste streams, they can actually create an exploding effect across the volume that’s collected, and most of these are around the chemicals that are involved,” he said.
What other rules are there?
It’s understood that at this point, the changes won’t affect collection days, bin sizes or how FOGO services operate.
Residents have also been told to only use certified compostable bin liners.
Food-soiled packaging items also cannot be recycled.
Controversial FOGO change across Australia
FOGO bins are being increasingly rolled out across the country in a bid to divert massive amounts of biodegradable waste from landfills amid a growing waste crisis.
Councils are using varying tactics to entice Aussies to embrace the change, including cash offers.
However, residents are increasingly reluctant to use FOGO, as it means reduced red bin collections.
This week, residents in the Victorian council area of Baw Baw were left fuming by the switch to a three-bin incentive, which led to changes in the frequency of red-bin collections. You can read more about that here.
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