¶ COLLIE Shire will divert all organic waste to landfill following an “unachievable” contamination target set by Bunbury Harvey Regional Council’s waste facility.
Shire president Ian Miffling said the move to enforce a one percent contamination rate for food organics and garden organics (FOGO) waste had come as a “surprise”.
“Overall, it’s disappointing that at this point in time we don’t have a resolution for what to do with FOGO,” Cr Miffling said.
Council voted to divert the waste to landfill at its April meeting, which Cr Miffling described as an “interim” measure.
The current three-bin waste collection system will be retained for the remainder of the year, and FOGO will continue to be collected on a weekly basis.
“At the end of the day, council felt retention of the current collection service for the rest of this year offered the best outcome,” Cr Miffling said.
A review will be carried out in December, evaluating the system and exploring other possibilities.
“We know this is an evolving situation and want to be in a position to move if or when a better alternative is found,” Cr Miffling said.
One alternative is sending FOGO waste to Renergi’s Collie Resource Recovery Centre for conversion into bio-oil, biochar and wood vinegar.
As reported by the Bulletin last week, the South West Development Commission expects commissioning of the $10.4 million centre to be completed this year.
However, no firm date has been locked in as issues continue to be navigated in getting the centre’s pyrolysis plant, construction of which was completed in April 2023, up and running.