FREMANTLE’S most disadvantaged citizens could be hit with $250 fines for collecting recyclable bottles and cans from bins.

Fremantle council’s new waste laws were carried unanimously and without amendment at this week’s meeting, despite 59 per cent of respondents to the consultation saying they had concerns about them.

Several voiced concerns that the changes would prohibit container collectors from providing a “community good”.

While studies on the demographic of “hunters” – as can collectors are known – are a bit thin on the ground, a 2025 report by The Guardian focussed on elderly retirees in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

They braved the early mornings, razor-sharp broken window panes, rotting food and heat in order to supplement their pensions so they could feed pets or put fuel in their cars.

Other issues raised included disproportionate fines and the potential for privacy violations if council workers searched through residents’ bins looking for a maggoty meat tray in the recyclables. 

The City’s fleet and waste manager Tyson Anderson said in a report infringements would be “a last resort”.

Mr Anderson said fines and would only be used for “ongoing, deliberate non-compliance after all reasonable efforts to educate and assist the resident have been exhausted”. 

Councillor Pip Slaughter reiterated that the aim of the law wasn’t to crack down on the hunters, but would be “people-focussed first”.

“We do have some people who’d like to take things out of other people’s bins,” Cr Slaughter said. 

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen that grow in times of economic hardship.

“There’s certainly a set of people who now drive around to go through recycling bins to get out any 10 cent cans that aren’t being recycled for cash.

“Put a sign on your bin if you’ve got 10 cent cans in your recycling bin you want people to take.”

The law now needs approval from local government minister Hannah Beazley to take effect.

by ROSS SAPIENZA