Tensions boil over in Rockingham council chambers as motion to reinstate weekly red bin collections is defeated

Tensions have boiled over in the City of Rockingham council chambers after a motion to reinstate weekly red bin collections was defeated.

Tuesday night's council meeting saw five councillors vote in favour of the motion and five against.

The 50/50 split forced Mayor Lorna Buchan to use her casting vote, deciding against the motion.

Those who voted in favour of weekly bin collections was Cr Dylan Mbano, Cr Craig Buchanan, Cr Peter Hudson, Cr Ryan Robertson, and Cr David Rudman while those who voted against were Cr Dawn Jecks, Cr Mark Jones, Cr Leigh Liley, Cr Mike Crichton, and Mayor Lorna Buchan.

The decision angered some residents in the public gallery, with two locals yelling as the exited the chambers.

The behaviour prompted Mayor Buchan to threaten to adjourn the meeting if the shouting continued.

"We have differences of opinion in our community on a range of issues — people don't come to the chamber if they're happy," Mayor Buchan told West Coast Radio.

"So understandably when the vote didn't go their way, one or two of them felt that they wanted to make a bit of a fuss, but that's not the situation that I want to have inside chamber."

Mayor Lorna Buchan. PIC: Facebook

City of Rockingham residents have been divided since the FOGO system began in June last year, which saw weekly red bin collection change to fortnightly.

Residents have reported an increase in flies, maggots and overflowing bins with many resorting to using public bins at parks and beaches to dump their extra waste.

A petition created by Baldivis Times founder, Wade McColl, calling for weekly red bin collection to be reinstated has amassed over 6800 signatures, but Mayor Buchan said this has not been presented to council.

"That represents only about three percent (of City of Rockingham households)," she told West Coast Radio.

"I think the vast majority of people in Rockingham know the reasons why we're rolling out this project.

"It's about future generations, it's about reducing landfill and it's about being financially responsible and they're getting on with the job."

Mr McColl said there was an undeniable level of community frustration.

"It is incredibly out of touch for Mayor Buchan to dismiss 6,800 signatures as 'only three percent' of households. To put that number into perspective, she was elected as Mayor with just 10,054 votes," Mr McColl told West Coast Radio.

"For a grassroots community petition to gather nearly 7,000 signatures is massive.

"Dismissing the voices of nearly 7,000 local residents as an insignificant minority is a slap in the face to the families and renters struggling with this system."

Mayor Buchan acknowledged not everyone is happy with the new system but to revert back to weekly collections would cost millions of dollars.

"We provide waste services to 57,000 households across the City...and understandably some people are struggling to adapt to the new system," she said.

"I tried to make sure that people knew that the cost to go back to the weekly collections and the time to go back to the weekly collections is important.

"This has been a two year project in the making to roll out FOGO from the middle of last year and to regress now, only six months into the project, I don't think is giving the whole thing a fair go."

Residents can request a second red-lidded general waste bin at a cost of $256 per year.

The City also offers concessions for residents with seven or more occupants and people who have excess medical waste.

Frequently asked questions about the FOGO system can be found on the City's website.