Waste education boosts recycling habits across Canning

The City of Canning has wrapped up its latest eight-week bin tagging waste education program, with results showing a noticeable improvement in recycling behaviours across the 12 select zones.

A total of 2,185 households took part in the program’s eleventh round, in Queens Park, St James, Wilson, Ferndale, Parkwood, Lynwood, Willetton, Canning Vale, Riverton and Shelley.

Over the eight-week period, household bins were inspected fortnightly, and feedback tags were placed on bins to provide residents with advice on how to correctly separate and dispose of waste and recyclables.

By the end of the program, 74 per cent of recycling bins received a happy tag, indicating very low or no contamination, which was a strong improvement from 60 per cent at the start of the program.

Data also showed that 34 per cent of recycling bins had no contamination after the final audit, compared with just 16 per cent at the beginning.

As part of this round, the City trialled placing informative stickers on 206 additional recycling bins in Willetton to see if they helped people sort their waste correctly. Waste Education Officers monitored the bins for one month.

The results showed that the stickers helped reduce several common contamination items, increased the number of rinsed containers being placed in the recycling bin, and reduced the number of incorrect items in yellow-lid bins.

When compared to the wider Bin Tagging Program, results from the sticker trial varied more between visits. This suggests that while stickers are useful for raising awareness, they work best when combined with ongoing education and community engagement.

Mayor Patrick Hall said the program plays an important role in improving waste sorting behaviours and supporting more sustainable waste management.

“The eleventh round of bin tagging saw a good improvement in waste sorting behaviours in the selected areas.

“One of the most encouraging results was the reduction in bagged recyclables in recycling bins. This went from 8% of bins at the start to less than 4% at the end of the round,” Mayor Hall said.

Aerosols are an uncommon but potentially dangerous contaminate that should not be placed in any kerbside bin. They may contain residual flammable substances and pose a fire risk during collection and processing. At the end of the program aerosols were found in 2.8 per cent of audited bins.

Aerosols should be disposed of at the one of the City’s recycling hubs which can be found at Canning River Eco Education Centre (CREEC), the City of Canning Civic and Administration Building, Hillview Intercultural Community Centre, Ranford Road Resource Recovery and Waste Transfer Station, Riverton Library, Willetton Library, and will also be available soon at Cannington Library.

Only five materials belong in the recycling bin, they are paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and containers, and aluminium and steel cans. The materials must be rinsed, placed loose in the bin with the lids off, for more information visit www.canning.wa.gov.au/recycling.

This project is supported by the Government of Western Australia and administered by the Waste Authority. The WA Local Government Association manages the WasteSorted Bin Tagging Program and works with Local Governments to deliver the project outcomes.

For waste related questions or to request an updated sticker for your bin, contact the City at 1300 422 664 and ask to talk with the Strategic Waste Team or email waste@canning.wa.gov.au.