THE Cities of Melville and Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle are on track to become the first Perth metropolitan councils to implement a food and garden organics three-bin system after Melville council voted unanimously to approve an $850,000 trial in five suburbs.

Originally proposed by the South Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) last year, 7000 households in the trial area will separate their waste into three streams, with a food and garden organics bin joining the existing recyclables and general waste bins.

Parts of Bicton, Willagee, Mt Pleasant, Brentwood and Bull Creek have been earmarked for the trial, which is likely to begin in October.

Melville councillor Cameron Schuster, who is also the chairman of the SMRC, said the aim of the three-bin system was to minimise the amount of waste that could not be recycled or reused, sending less waste to landfill and reducing costs.

“At the moment the SMRC produces compost which is used on a number of farms in the WA wheatbelt,” he said.

“The reason it can’t be used on domestic gardens in Perth is because it falls short of the Australian standard in one respect only, and that is the presence of tiny residual pieces of glass.

“A three-bin system, if implemented properly, would remove all glass from the waste stream and allow the SMRC to produce compost that can be used on City of Melville parks and gardens or sold into the domestic market in Perth.”

Residents in the trial areas, which are yet to be confirmed, will received a new 240l lime-green lidded bin for food and garden organic material, which will be collected weekly.

They will also receive a brand new smaller 140l red-lidded bin, collected fortnightly, for general rubbish items that cannot be either composted or recycled.

The two news bins will replace the current dark-green general waste bin, with the yellow-lidded recycling bin remaining but switching to fortnightly collection.

Residents will also be provided with a kitchen caddy and compostable bin liners to help them separate their waste in the kitchen

Three-bin systems already adopted by other Perth metropolitan councils only allow for garden materials in their green bin, leaving food waste to rot away in landfill sites where it produces harmful greenhouse gases.

Following the trial, a decision will be made on the implementation of the system across the remainder of the City of Melville, the City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle.

To minimise the impact on rates, the City of Melville will fund the trial from its Refuse Facilities Reserve and Refuse Bin Reserve, with the City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle also making contributions.

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