Inconsistencies in forming waste policy have presented major challenges for waste management in Australia, with different approaches across, and sometimes within, jurisdictions.
For example, Infrastructure Victoria's review of the Victorian waste market highlighted differences in household bin collection methods across the state, noting that recycling services and collections differed across local councils, especially with organics collection.71
Most councils offer no organics collection services, some offer food organics and garden organics or some just garden organics. Bin lid colours and their meanings also vary across councils, leading to potential community confusion that contributes to contamination.72
The large volumes of waste sent to landfill across Australia reveal a lack of separation at source. Separating waste streams at their generation source can reduce contamination and improve the end market for recycled materials. The Infrastructure Victoria report identified that increasing the separation of waste would require supporting infrastructure for both separation and processing.73
When introducing a separate stream such as FOGO, governments need to be aware of community concerns about traffic congestion due to additional waste collection vehicles. To address this issue, several local councils that have introduced FOGO services also reduced the number of residual waste collections, resulting in minimal overall impact on the transport network.