Kerbside recycling is required within the City of Greater Geraldton to ensure recyclable materials reach the processing station instead of landfill, and the necessary waste infrastructure must be established to ensure materials are processed and resupplied within the local economy. This will limit our environmental impact, conserve resources, provide direct economic input/output, and avoid transportation costs of sending these materials to Perth. 

According to the CSIRO’s “Advancing a Circular Economy” page, “a circular economy promotes the continual use, recycling, and regeneration of materials and products. Resources are valued and products are designed for their durability, repairability, and recyclability.”

The first and most important step in moving towards a circular economy is being able to reprocess and resupply everything locally.

While there are already places for recyclable materials to be collected and reprocessed within the City - i.e. Geraldton & Midwest E-Waste, Central Metal Recyclers, the Containers for Change depot, the Meru Waste Management Facility, the new Resource Recovery Station, as well as a variety of other drop-off points for recyclable items  - The City Council still has not provided kerbside recycling to its residents. This is despite 94% of the state population being provided with a commingled recycling service (yellow-lid bin) in 2021-22 (according to the Waste and Recycling in Western Australia 2021-22 report).

• According to the 2022 National Waste Report, in 2020-21, Australia generated an estimated 75.8 million tonnes of waste, and out of this received and processed 45.4 million tonnes of materials.
  According to the Australian exports of waste and recovered materials in 2021-22 report, 4.41 million total tonnes of waste materials and resources were exported Australia-wide. 

• According to the Waste and Recycling in Western Australia 2021-22 report and WA’s recycling dashboard, an estimated 6.7 million tonnes of waste was generated in that year. 2.5 million tonnes were sent to landfill and 4.2 million tonnes of waste was recovered.
  3.22 million tonnes of the recovered waste was reprocessed within the state (77%), 853,803 tonnes were exported overseas (20%), and 119,530 tonnes were sent interstate (3%). 43,000 tonnes were recovered as energy. 
  3,495,337 tonnes of material were recovered in Perth regions, 69,722 tonnes in Peel regions, and 629,358 tonnes in regional areas.  

• In 2021, local governments collected 1.4 million tonnes of domestic waste from their residents and reported a 35 per cent material recovery rate. Overall, material recovery was higher in Perth and Peel regions (40 per cent) compared to other regions in the state (24 per cent). 
• A 54% up to 66% recovery rate was recorded amongst 162k households with a 3 bin recovery system including FOGO. 15% of the population was provided with a FOGO bin and 30% with a garden organics (GO) bin. 
  The city of Melville’s recovery rate was 66%, Town of East Fremantle’s 65%, Shire of Harvey’s 58%, City of Fremantle’s 58% and City of Stirling’s 58%. 

Looking at these statistics, recycling is working in towns and cities where it is facilitated. Avon Waste, a business that provides recycling services to local governments, is currently servicing 35 local governments in regional WA, including Perenjori, Morawa, Merredin, Toodyay, and more.

Making products from recycled materials are often cheaper than making them from raw resources. This is because recycled materials have already been used and don't require the same amount of energy and resources to produce.

Recycling as a waste solution is more efficient, more cost-effective and has less environmental impact than the old “take, make, use and dispose” model. 

63% of Western Australia’s waste is recovered and reused as of 2021-22. Australia’s recycling rate has increased by 57% over the last 15 years. Resource Recovery Station

According to the Waste Authority’s Annual Report of 2022-23, 73% of Western Australians agree that sorting waste into the different disposal options is the right thing to do. 

Let’s make sure a successful recycling program is implemented in the community and get Geraldton with the rest of the state and Australia! Sign this petition and show your support! Visit the Facebook page Recycling for Geraldton for any more information or questions.