Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup, Western Australia, has two unofficial mascots ‘Donny’ and ‘Brook’, and they take their role seriously.
The Shire operates a three bin kerbside collection service in the three main towns of Donnybrook, Kirup and Balingup.
Organics bins are collected weekly, and rubbish and recycling bins are collected fortnightly on an alternate basis.
An audit last year of FOGO waste (light green lid bins used for organic waste) reaffirmed the community’s commitment to the three bin system but highlighted some areas for improvement.
The audit was conducted by Zero Point Energy and the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council, with the purpose of verifying contamination rates, identifying sources of contamination and highlighting areas for improvement.
The audit revealed a contamination rate of 1.89 percent for Donnybrook-Balingup, which although low, is up 1 percent from the previous audit.
Bunbury Harvey Regional Council ‘Watch your Waste’ education team’s website assists the community in reducing their waste and recycling correctly. The website provides the community with an A-Z list of items which can be placed in the FOGO bins.
During the Covid-19 lockdown Donny and Brook climbed onboard by making a point of reminding residents about bin collection day.
A video of the dynamic apple duo putting out the bins was broadcast via the ‘Bin Isolation Outing’ Facebook Group which had gone viral.
