Push to shift control of waste

Local governments could have to hand over control of rubbish collection to bigger regional councils in a bid to streamline the sector and boost WA's low recycling rates.

Environment Minister Albert Jacob signalled yesterday that he wanted to overhaul waste management amid concern the system was inefficient and overly complex.

The minister will release a draft review today of WA's key recycling law, outlining options for reform.

WA has one of the lowest recycling rates in Australia, with less than 50 per cent of all waste generated in Perth being reused, compared with more than 65 per cent in other States.

Mr Jacob partly blamed the low figure on a lack of co-ordination between Perth's councils when it came to recycling.

One way this could be fixed, he said, was by making it compulsory for local governments to join regional councils, which handled bigger amounts of waste and could do it more efficiently. He said the number of metropolitan regional councils should be cut from five to three and local government made to join along geographic lines.

Mr Jacob said such reforms - along with changes making it more costly to send waste to landfill - would mean more certainty for customers such as waste-to-energy plants.

The review's discussion paper is open for public submissions until February 23.