THE City of Melville insists a potential new law introducing a raft of finable offences related to waste disposal is not intended as a revenue raising measure.
Melville councillors last week voted unanimously to advertise the new Waste Local Law for comment, despite some expressing concerns many of the regulations would be difficult to police and could potentially cause conflict between neighbours.
If enacted, the laws would impose fines of $200 for failing to sort waste into the right receptacle, such as non-recyclables in the yellow-lid bin.
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READ NOWPenalties of $100 would apply for leaving a bin on the side of the road for extended periods of time before or after collection day, blocking a footpath or failing to place a bin within 1m of the carriageway.
“Allowing a receptacle to cause a nuisance” would also attract a $100 fine, prompting councillor Tim Barling to raise the prospect of fines being issued for using a wheelie bin as the stumps for cricket.
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The laws are based on a model prepared by the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) and are intended to support the City of Melville’s planned introduction of a three-bin waste system, a trial of which is set to begin in October.
Melville chief executive Shayne Silcox said the City was developing a contamination management strategy aiming to prevent cross-contamination between the general waste, recycling and organics bins in the new system.
“The strategy will detail actions to be undertaken by officers to minimise contamination of the residential waste stream, and will focus on education, communication and enforcement,” Dr Silcox said.
“While the primary focus of the strategy will be to increase participation and manage contamination through community education, it will provide an option for enforcement in instances where ongoing contamination is occurring despite multiple notifications of disposal requirements.”
In debating the item, both councillors Matthew Woodall and Cameron Schuster said that without specific fines in place, each offence outlined in the Waste Local Law would carry a penalty of up to $5000 and would require a court conviction, a long and expensive process.
“The intention in the first instance is that offences are dealt with through education, this is not intended to be a revenue-raising exercise,” Cr Woodall said.
“But if penalties are not in place a person can continually leave their bin on the road or blocking a shared driveway in an apartment complex and there is nothing to stop them.”
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