Western Australian households are facing a sudden and unexpected shift in their waste disposal habits following a quiet update to the state's Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) guidelines. In a move aimed at streamlining waste recovery, key items previously permitted in green-lidded bins have now been strictly banned.

Under the revised rules, residents can no longer discard pet waste, tea bags, paper towels, or greasy pizza boxes into their FOGO bins. Instead, the waste stream will be restricted exclusively to garden clippings, unpackaged food scraps, and certified compostable bin liners.

The Battle Against 'Forever Chemicals'

The sudden policy shift addresses growing concerns over compost quality and chemical contamination. Many consumer products, including paper packaging and takeaway containers marketed as "compostable," actually contain polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—commonly known as "forever chemicals." These synthetic substances do not break down naturally and can ruin entire batches of organic compost.

City of Stirling Mayor and Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) President Mark Irwin emphasized the necessity of the changes, noting that keeping the organic waste stream pure is essential for agricultural recycling.

"What we have seen through the implementation of FOGO is that it is incredibly important for these waste streams to be pure," Irwin said. "If you put the wrong forms of waste into these collections, it can have an exploding effect across the entire volume gathered, largely due to the chemicals involved in packaging."

Household Frustration and the Red-Bin Dilemma

The rule change is expected to trigger significant pushback from residents, many of whom have already struggled to adapt to the FOGO system. The program originally reduced general waste (red-lidded bin) collections to a fortnightly schedule, under the promise that households could offset the space by putting food and cardboard waste into their weekly green FOGO bins.

Now, with bulky food-soiled packaging and pet waste relegated back to the red bin, residents are concerned about running out of space before their fortnightly general waste collection.

"People are struggling to understand," Irwin acknowledged. "While food organics are dense and heavy, they do not take up a lot of physical volume. It's the household packaging that fills up bins quickly. Removing the weekly red bin collection is proving very difficult for many local councils to manage under these new guidelines."

Demands for State Leadership and Funding

The updated guidelines were posted online on July 10 with little fanfare, leaving local councils to scramble and disseminate the new instructions via social media. The sudden policy U-turn also means that educational graphics printed directly onto household kitchen caddies and bin lids across the state are now entirely incorrect.

Local government leaders are calling on the state government to step up with a coordinated public education campaign and financial assistance to manage the fallout.

"This needs a really strong, state-led waste strategy and clear leadership to ensure consistency across Western Australia," Irwin said. "Updating these systems is not a matter of hundreds of thousands of dollars—it costs tens of millions. Councils need backing to guide their communities through this transition."

A Collaborative Effort for Quality Compost

In response to the concerns, a spokesperson for the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation stated that the new guidelines were developed collaboratively alongside WALGA, local governments, and the waste industry.

The department maintained that the updates are designed to simplify the sorting process for households while drastically improving the quality of the compost produced from municipal waste. Officials confirmed that educational resources and FAQ guides are being distributed to local governments to assist in communicating the changes to residents.