Statements
WasteSorted organics infrastructure grants program
Ministerial statement
Hon Matthew Swinbourn (Minister for the Environment) (11:50 am): I am pleased to inform the house of the WasteSorted organics infrastructure grants program for 2024–25, a state government initiative administered by the Waste Authority. The program supports the development of infrastructure for food organics and garden organics—otherwise known as FOGO—recovery, recycling and processing, in line with WA's Waste avoidance and resource recovery strategy 2030: Western Australia's waste strategy. By investing in FOGO infrastructure, the WasteSorted organics infrastructure grants program aims to reduce landfill waste and promote a circular economy, creating long-term environmental and economic benefits.
Through the WasteSorted organics infrastructure grants program, the Cook Labor government has invested more than $3.6 million on three new projects aimed at expanding FOGO recycling infrastructure in Western Australia. An amount of $1,550,000 has been awarded to Viola Recycling and Recovery Pty Ltd to expand its Perth northern metro FOGO transfer capacity in Landsdale. This will be used to develop a fully enclosed FOGO transfer facility to receive and process up to 50,000 tonnes per annum of FOGO material. The new infrastructure will feature advanced air control systems to ensure minimal environmental impact during processing. Viola Recycling and Recovery has been awarded another $597,500 to provide its North Bannister compost facility with significant upgrades to its decontamination screening process, allowing the facility to expand its capacity for FOGO services. This project will increase processing capacity by an additional 60,000 tonnes per annum, bringing the total capacity to 100,000 tonnes per year.
A $1,510,000 grant will be used by Pure Earth for new infrastructure at its organic composting facility, which will enable the facility to receive and process an additional 80,000 tonnes of FOGO annually. This expansion will help support FOGO processing needs from local governments within a 60 kilometre radius of the site at—forgive my pronunciation, Wheatbelt members—Woottating. Investments in recycling infrastructure such as these underscore the state government's commitment to recovering more value from our waste and progressing WA towards a circular economy.
