Cash back for volunteers to separate waste

Sunday, 4 December 2016
 
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• ​Litter collection groups can get up to $500 cash back for separating waste
• $5 per bag for recyclables or weeds, $3 per bag for general household waste

Volunteer groups will be rewarded with cash payments under a new Liberal National Government program aimed at diverting recyclable waste from landfill in Western Australia.

Under the Clean Communities Initiative, Adopt-a-Spot litter collection groups and Department of Parks and Wildlife volunteers could be eligible for free collection bags, and claim $5 for every bag of recyclables or weeds and $3 for each bag of general household waste.

Environment Minister Albert Jacob said eligible groups would be able to claim up to $500 for separating waste into the bags provided through the initiative - green bags for weeds, yellow bags for recyclables and red bags for general waste that cannot be recycled.

These bag colours replicate the Australian standard bin colours used in the Liberal National Government's $20 million Better Bins three-bin kerbside collection systems.

"The Clean Communities Initiative encourages volunteers who already do community litter work to separate rubbish from reusable items so more recyclable materials can be recovered," Mr Jacob said.

"Everyone wants to see tidy, litter free public parks and community spaces, and weeds removed to protect the State's wildlife, parks and wetlands.

"However, waste collected at community clean-up activities is often sent to landfill, which represents a missed opportunity to recover waste that can be recycled.  By providing these free bags, more waste can be separated at the source and less ends up in landfill."

The Minister said the program would also help volunteer groups prepare for the introduction of the State Government's container deposit scheme from mid-2018.

"Once the container deposit scheme is in place, there will be an even greater incentive to sort recyclables from the waste stream, and the additional income will be a welcome boost to those groups that collect containers as part of their volunteer activities," he said.

Fact File

• For more information on the program, visit http://www.wasteauthority.wa.gov.au
• Become an Adopt-a-Spot participant by going to http://www.kabc.wa.gov.au/get-involved/adoptaspot
• The State Government initiative is administered by the Waste Authority WA and supported by the Keep Australia Beautiful Council