The Shire of Harvey implemented a bin tagging program as part of the ongoing education after the rollout of the Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) 3 bin system. The program was run by the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council (BHRC) and the Officers conducted visual inspections of the contents of all three bins.
The aim was to educate residents on the correct use of their three bins and provide individual feedback via bin tags, complete with a smiling or sad face depending on how correctly the contents of the bins were sorted.
The program commenced on Tuesday, 6 April 2021 and was completed in May 2021 with 831 properties selected for inspection throughout the Shire.
Common incorrectly sorted items included:
- Newspapers wrapped in plastic put in the Recycle or FOGO bin.
- Non compostable coffee cups/ fast food cups put in the Recycle or FOGO bin.
- Non compostable dog poo bags in the FOGO bin.
- Tetra items put in the Recycle bin.
- Meat trays put in the Recycle bin.
- Lids left on plastic bottles.
The bin tagging program was able to successfully provide feedback and education to the community, in an effort to make it easier to sort waste in the correct kerbside bin.
The results show that the community were receptive to the feedback, as the level of high contamination within the Shire of Harvey’s audited areas dropped by 18%.
Find out more about the Bin Tagging Program.
Find out about the 3 bin FOGO system, including what goes in your Food Organics, Garden Organics bin, recycling bin and general waste bin.