Changes to what people can put in their household bins have officially begun, with local governments across the State beginning to roll out new rules.

The updated guidelines, developed by the WA Local Government Association, representatives from local government, the waste industry and the State Government, aim to simplify what can be placed in food organics and garden organics bins.

From the beginning of this financial year, only food scraps, garden waste and certified compostable caddy liners displaying the AS 4736 seedling logo should go into FOGO bins.

Items that were previously accepted, including tea bags, tissues, paper towels, pet waste and compostable takeaway packaging, must now be placed in general waste bins instead.

At this point, the changes will not affect collection days, bin sizes or how FOGO services operate.

The aim is to make it easier for residents to understand what belongs in the FOGO bin.

A Department of Water and Environmental Regulation spokesperson said waste sorting guidance was developed through a collaborative process to ensure consistency of key messages.

“FOGO works best when households keep it simple by putting food scraps and garden waste in the bin — the list was amended to reduce confusion and help households sort with confidence,” the spokesperson said.

“Households will continue to place the vast majority of their kitchen and garden organic waste into the FOGO bin, where it can be turned into valuable compost instead of being sent to landfill.

“Residents can continue to maximise space in their red-lidded general waste bin by placing food scraps and garden waste in their FOGO bin and recyclable items in their yellow-lidded recycling bin.

“Decisions about bin sizes, collection services and any associated charges are matters for individual local governments, which are responsible for delivering household waste services to their communities.”

A WALGA spokesperson said the change continues to be a “gradual transition” with local governments taking the opportunity to review their accepted materials and undertake change over to the new list.

“The release of a new State Waste Strategy and Implementation Roadmap is long overdue and it is significantly impacting Local Governments ability to plan future services and waste management initiatives,” the spokesperson said.

“WALGA continues to call on the State Government to allocate all funds generated from the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Levy, some $80 million per year, to fund the strategic waste management initiatives, including FOGO implementation and support.”

City of Belmont councillor Jenny Davis shared the update on her social media page, which sparked a lot of “trash” talk against the new changes.

“Can’t wait for the smells in the streets of dog poo waiting a fortnight to get collected ... genius!,” one commentator said.

“1 red bin every fortnight wasn’t enough for a family of 5 with 2 children before. Now is going to be worst,” another said.

“So more things now have to go in the smaller general waste bins that are only collected fortnightly thus putting less in the green bin that is collected weekly. This makes perfect sense,” another added.

City of Belmont chief executive John Christie said the changes were the result of collaboration across the sector.

“We have been working with the State Government, WALGA, other local governments and processors on changes to the FOGO program to focus more on food scraps, garden waste and certified compostable caddy liners,” he said.

“The aim of the changes is to improve compost quality and provide more clarity for residents on what can go in a FOGO bin.”

He said the city would begin an education campaign to help residents adapt to the changes.

“We know FOGO is working to divert waste from landfill. Since the introduction of FOGO in 2024, our material recovery rate has more than doubled, delivering better waste outcomes for our community,” Mr Christie said.

“Changing people’s behaviours can take time.

“We introduced FOGO to most residents from April 2024 which included an extensive education program, and we are planning additional communications to be released over the coming months to help our community understand these latest updates to the program.”

Belmont residents can upgrade their general waste bin for $88 a year, which may be waived for some households on medical or compassionate grounds.

In Bayswater, mayor Filomena Piffaretti said the city had been informed of the new requirement and was advising residents.

She confirmed there would be no changes to the red bin service.

A City of Perth spokesperson said the city was aware of the changes being discussed and proactively adopted the revised FOGO accepted item list at the start of its FOGO program.

The city rolled out FOGO in April via a phased approach for single dwellings and residential buildings with five units or less.

The spokesperson confirmed their three-bin-FOGO service would remain unchanged.

Town of Victoria Park mayor Karen Vernon said residents had been receiving conflicted advice.

“The town recognises that waste sorting information can sometimes be confusing. Different FOGO processors have historically accepted slightly different materials, and the vast amount of information available online can make it difficult to know which guidance to follow,” she said.

“These recent changes will help standardise accepted materials across FOGO processing facilities throughout WA, providing greater clarity and consistency for everyone.”

She said the town would continue to provide “clear guidance” to help their community understand the latest information.

The changes come just six months after the town introduced a bin inspection program over February and March, with waste officers placing happy and sad smiley-face tags on correctly sorted bins as part of their own education program. The town even offered weekly prizes for residents who were placing items in the correct bins.

Ms Vernon said the town deliberately retained bigger general waste bins to support the transition.

“Maintaining this larger bin capacity has helped support the community’s transition to FOGO while ensuring residents continue to have sufficient general waste disposal capacity,” she said.

She confirmed there were are no planned changes to the town’s waste collection.

“However, we will continue to monitor service performance and community needs to ensure we maintain an appropriate balance between environmental outcomes, operational efficiency and resident expectations,” she said.