Published 24 February 2023
The City of Bunbury is working with WALGA (Western Australia Local Government Association) and Activ Bunbury to roll out a ‘bin tagging’ auditing program.
This educational program aims to reduce waste to landfill and improve recycling rates in the City of Bunbury, for the benefit of our community and environment.
Activ will be engaged as Community Waste Education Officers to work in pairs inspecting bins for contamination (wrong items in the bin), such as recyclables in the General Waste bin, or contamination in the Recycling bins and Food Organics/Garden Organics (FOGO) bins.
How does it work?
Areas chosen for bin tagging are both targeted and chosen at random, to ensure feedback to households is fair and consistent.
Following inspections, they place a ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ tag on the handle of the bin providing feedback about how well residents are using the bins or what can be improved. This feedback can help to clarify any misconceptions or confusion residents may have about the new bin system and offers positive reinforcement to households sorting their waste correctly. Officers will not be ‘rummaging’ through the bins, rather they will be aiming to gain a general overview of how the household is sorting their waste and will not be looking at any resident’s personal information.
Data recorded to understand key issues
Officers will record details of any contamination present in each bin and the level of contamination for each inspection. The data will be analysed as a whole, and results reported on a community rather than individual scale. This information is important for us to understand the key issues that need to be focused on when educating the community.
What if I do it wrong?
The program will focus on education rather than enforcement.
In a small number of cases where residents’ bins show repeated high contamination, the bin will not be collected. A sticker informing the resident that the bin was not able to be collected and a tag will be attached to the bin, listing the contaminants, and requesting they be removed.
What if I do it right?
Incentives will be offered for households that consistently ‘recycle right’ with no contamination, as well as households that show the most improvement.
When does the program begin?
The program is set to officially begin the week of 13 March however Activ Bunbury will begin training in some areas of Bunbury starting Tuesday 28 February.
