Elected Members
Regional Councillors
The Resource Recovery Group's current elected members are:
Karen Wheatland - Chair, Regional Councillor
City of Melville
Cr Karen Wheatland is in her second term as an elected member, first being elected in 2017, at the City of Melville and is their representative on the Council.
She is the Resource Recovery Group’s representative on Municipal Waste Advisory Group, (MWAC).
Cr Wheatland is excited to participate in the waste sector as she identifies the opportunity to divert waste from landfill and in turn reducing the rate of growth of emissions from methane into the atmosphere. With more waste diversion through FOGO, the Resource Recovery Group has received credit through Federal Government approved carbon offsets, from composting the organic fraction of the waste stream from landfill to FOGO.
A strong advocate for FOGO, Cr Wheatland is looking forward to being a part of Resource Recovery Group and to help grow FOGO uptake that will give the Resource Recovery Group’s customers the opportunity to develop a new revenue stream from processing FOGO.
Hannah Fitzhardinge - Deputy Chair, Regional Councillor
City of Fremantle
Cr Hannah Fitzhardinge was elected Mayor of Fremantle in 2021, having served as a Councillor since 2016.
A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Hannah has served on the Rottnest Island Board and the boards of Integral Development Pty Ltd, The Beehive Montessori School and ARTRAGE and brings extensive governance experience to the RRG table. Her professional experience has included leadership development, stakeholder engagement, communications, crisis and issues management and government relations.
In joining the RRG, Hannah hopes to continue the strong advocacy for best practice waste minimisation that has been a legacy of the City of Fremantle’s involvement in the organisation.
Jenny Archibald- Regional Councillor
City of Fremantle
Cr Jenny Archibald has been a councillor at the City of Fremantle since 2017, and Deputy Mayor since 2023. This followed terms as councillor and Mayor between 1990 to 1997. She has held various board roles with not-for-profit organisations and as Chair of the Rottnest Island Authority. She is currently Deputy Chair of the State Library of WA.
With a professional career starting in research in palaeontology, Jenny later moved into business development and management roles, including as co-owner and executive of private sector companies involved in the geoscience industry.
With cost effective and efficient waste management increasingly important today, Jenny looks forward to being part of the RRG team as it continues to sustainably maximise material resource recovery into the future.
Jane Edinger- Regional Councillor
City of Melville
Cr Jane Edinger was elected to the City of Melville in 2021.
During her time on Council she has actively participated in the business of Council and has served as the Chairperson of the Governance committee.
Jane brings to the Resource Recovery Group Council her business acumen developed as administration manager for a metal fabrication business, and her professional expertise from working for many years as an information specialist within the mining sector.
She has keenly embraced the City of Melville’s FOGO rollout, and hopes that the FOGO and recycling best practice waste management processes will eventually be adopted by all metropolitan Councils.