Updated ,first published
A council in Perth’s south has dismissed the idea of public skip bins to combat a growing illegal dumping problem.
The proposal was voted down unanimously at Tuesday night’s City of Canning council meeting, having been put on the agenda following an annual general meeting of electors.
Resident Fiona Hillary put forward the motion at the January 29 electors meeting for the city’s chief executive to consider trialling the placement of skip bins for community use at known dumping sites in Bentley.
“My suggestion is that we put them on plots of land, for example there is an area on the corner of Chapman Road and Duke Street and my street [Mitchell Street] and it’s a constant dumping ground, because it’s quite a large cornered area,” she said in the meeting.
“We’d like to trial [the skip bins] in Bentley … the community surrounding that can then put the small items in there.”
Hillary believed it would prove more cost-effective to allow the community to use public skip bins for their used goods, as opposed to sending council staff out for illegal verge-dumping collections.
“I believe it will be cost beneficial to the council because you won’t have to collect the dumping, and particularly in Bentley at the moment, with all the development and the influx of various tenants, there is dumping galore,” she said.
While councillors were quick to dismiss the idea of public skip bins on Tuesday night, deputy mayor Mark Bain said he believed more investigation into the illegal dumping issue was needed.
“Though not supported by the city, it did really shine a light on the issue of illegal dumping, not only in Bentley but the whole of Canning and I thank [Hillary] for that,” Bain said.
“Upon further investigation, we found that illegal dumping is not down, it is actually up, which certainly alights with the anecdotal evidence and my own personal experience.
“I visited a street not far from here the other day and sent photos to the city. The area really did resemble a tip, the amount of rubbish was personally shocking. It’s just so disappointing and sad to see litter in our streetscapes as you move around Canning.”
Bain said the city was “doing a good job” with the waste services it provides to residents, but more could be done.
“I believe we should be and could be more proactive and quicker when it comes to illegal dumping,” he said.
“While the City does not support the public skip bin concept, there other ideas worth exploring and investigating.”
Bain made an amendment which was unanimously supported by councillors to “request the CEO present a business case for a rapid response waste team to council at a 2026/27 budget workshop”.
Throughout the 2025, 295 illegal dumping and dumped rubbish service requests were made, with litter and illegal dumping as a whole also increasing in almost all suburbs.
Riverton, Cannington, Rossmoyne and Willetton all more than doubled the number of reported litter cases compared to 2024.
Despite this, city officers recommended councillors reject the motion, at Tuesday night’s ordinary council meeting.
“While the intent of the proposal is acknowledged City Officers do not support it,” the council agenda reads.
“The City’s existing operational framework and waste management capacity already provides numerous services that align with the objective of reducing illegal dumping and to improve community amenity.”
Some of the services provided by the city include weekly general waste collection; fortnightly recycling collection; two free bulk skip bin collections per year; one free bulky item collection per year and two free tip passes for residents to the Ranford Road Waste Transfer Station.
Property owners are required to pay a $420 annual waste services charge as part of their yearly rates.
“Residents cannot and should not expect local governments to solve all of the waste issues generated by consumption. The Waste Service Charge of $420 is far too low a price to pay if that is the expectation,” the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting reads.
“Placing skip bins on public land that can be freely used by all and sundry effectively shifts the responsibility for everyone’s waste to the local government. It essentially legalises and legitimises illegal dumping with every skip bin site becoming a ‘quasi’ rubbish tip or waste transfer station.”
According to the agenda, “no illegal dumping cases for the skip bin laydown areas” have been made for 2025 or 2026.
However, the city has issued three fines for illegal dumping in other parts of the district in the 2024-2025 financial year, and seven fines for the 2025-2026 period.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
