WA Government 'In Love With Landfill,' Recycler Claims

An organic recycling business, C-Wise, has criticized the Western Australian government, accusing it of being "in love with landfill." C-Wise chief executive Greg Watts argues that valuable nutrients, essential for local farms facing high fertilizer costs, are being buried instead of recovered.

Recent figures from the WA Waste Authority revealed that 2.7 million tonnes of waste were sent to landfill in 2024-25, with 27.5% in the Perth and Peel region. Watts stated that landfill remains the "easy option" in WA, preventing the recovery of organic waste for use in farming.

C-Wise processes organic waste into compost and mulch for agricultural use. However, Watts points to issues like limited FOGO bin adoption and recent changes restricting household waste in green bins, leading to materials like tissues and paper towels ending up in landfill. He also highlighted unsaleable commercial grain and dead chickens being buried, advocating for legislation to enable their composting.

Narrogin farmer Ash Wiese has successfully trialled and now uses C-Wise's compost on his farm, finding it cost-effective and beneficial for soil nutrition and organic matter. He supports the circular economy concept, noting how waste from oat de-hulling is used in the compost, which then helps grow more oats for porridge.

Watts urges the state government to increase landfill prices to incentivize waste reduction and innovation, suggesting that compost can be a cheaper alternative. A government spokesperson affirmed their commitment to reducing landfill and increasing resource recovery, highlighting investments in organics processing infrastructure to divert materials for productive use.