Bin tagging helps residents to ‘recycle right’

A bin tagging program commenced mid-February 2020 in selected households across the region to help educate residents to ‘recycle right’.

Bin tagging is part of the rollout of the new 3-bin FOGO system that was implemented during 2019 in the City of Melville, City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle. The Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) is undertaking the education program on behalf of the three Councils, with funding support from the state government, administered by the Waste Authority.

Visual inspections

Community Waste Education Officers will work in pairs to make a visual inspection of the bin’s contents prior to pick up on collection day. They will check for contamination (wrong items in the bin), such as recyclables in the General Waste bin, or contamination in the FOGO and Recycling bins. 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

Following inspection, they will place a ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ tag on the handle of the bin which provides feedback about how well residents are using the bins or what can be improved. The tags will be in line with the bin lid colours – lime green for the FOGO bin, yellow for the Recycling bin and red for the General Waste bin.

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.

Read more about the common mistakes made when placing items in the recycling or FOGO bins.