City of Bunbury continues to fund defective waste treatment plan while State Government offers to step in

The City of Bunbury council has voted to send another $280,000 to a defective tip, while exploring other options to have organic waste trucked to Perth. At its April 7 meeting, the council opted to progress talks about sending organic waste to Perth, rather than explore options for it to be processed in the region. This comes as the State Government promised a $95 per tonne subsidy to have food waste properly disposed of, rather than sending it straight to landfill — the region’s current plan. City of Bunbury mayor Jaysen Miguel said the future of FOGO had been a talking point amongst South West shires. “Those conversations I’ve had with our neighbouring shires and most of the South West shires have been about what is a short-term solution, but fundamentally, what’s the long term goal as well. And we’re definitely going to have to rely on some State Government support for that,” he said. He said the issue behind sending FOGO waste to Perth was the cost, which would be more expensive than just burying it. “Given there has been some rising in costs and fuel costs in recent times — that’s expected to be up,” he said. “We want to have that conversation, get a clear understanding of what it will cost before we, as a council, need to make a decision and if we do, see where else the State Government can support us.” The decision to put Bunbury chief executive to work in exploring the viability of the State Government’s offer came just minutes after the city opted to send another $280,000 to the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council — the body in charge of Bunbury’s waste management. This brings the total financial year contributions from the City of Bunbury to nearly $1.3 million, with the Shire of Harvey matching Bunbury’s most recent contribution. Despite the motion passing, Cr Gabi Ghasseb said the BHRC was not fulfilling its obligations. “Section C68 notes the orderly and efficient treatment, storage and disposal of waste,” he said. “We can’t leave it ongoing. There’s been a lot of sunk funds into this operation, and I must be able to look at my ratepayers in the eyes. Now is the turning point.” Cr Ghasseb’s reservations come after the BHRC stopped taking FOGO waste in December due to “unacceptable” levels of contamination found within the organic waste, which is used to produce compost. Mr Miguel promised the next steps in utilising South West organic waste would be put to the council in the coming months when the chief executive can provide the exact costs.