Freo residents invited to verge collection workshop
City of Fremantle 4 May 2021

Fremantle residents are invited to attend a workshop to discuss options for Fremantle’s approach to bulk waste verge collections.

The City of Fremantle currently provides verge collections for bulk waste and green waste.

The workshop, to be held at Fremantle Leisure Centre from 5pm on Thursday, is part of a review of the City of Fremantle’s verge waste collection services.

Fremantle Councillor Doug Thompson, who is also Chair of WALGA’s Municipal Waste Advisory Council, said there were pros and cons to having bulk waste verge collections.

“Some people really love the verge collections because it’s very easy and convenient just to leave unwanted stuff out on the verge, and it also gives people the chance to have a look and try to find some treasure among all the trash,” Cr Thompson said.

“On the other hand, some people hate verge collections because they can make the streets look messy and also encourage illegal dumping.

“With the introduction of FOGO bins and the Fremantle Recycling Centre providing new ways to dispose of unwanted items, the council thought it would be timely to review verge collections to find out whether people are happy with them or if some other system would be preferred.

“Alternatives could be an on-demand system, where residents organise a verge pick-up from the City at a time that suits them, or the City could provide a skip bin for people who need one.

“At the workshop we’ll share the feedback from our recent community survey on the current verge collection and drop-off service, and also discuss ideas and preferences going forward.

“The model we choose will help the City achieve our target of a 70 per cent material recovery rate by 2030, so it would be great to get lots of people along to the workshop to share their thoughts.”

On average the City of Fremantle gathers around 740 tonnes of bulk waste per verge collection, of which 40-50 per cent is recycled and the remainder sent to landfill.

The City’s green waste collections gather around 280 tonnes of green waste per collection, with almost all of it converted to compost or mulch.

The Future of Freo’s Bulk Waste Workshop is on Thursday 6 May from 5-7pm, at Fremantle Leisure Centre at 10 Shuffrey Street in Fremantle.

Residents can attend the workshop in person or view it online. To RSVP, email [email protected].