Dead dogs and used syringes not welcome at recycling centre

LISMORE City Council has pleaded with residents to stop putting syringes, asbestos, dead animals, and electrical appliances in their recycling bin.

BIN PROBLEMS: Lismore Material Recycling Facility commercial services coordinator Kevin Trustum is pleading with residents to be mindful of the waste they throw in recycling bins. Picture: Marc Stapelberg

LISMORE City Council has pleaded with residents to stop putting syringes, asbestos, dead animals, and electrical appliances in their recycling bin.

Kevin Trustum, commercial services coordinator for waste, said the 14 staff at Lismore's Material Recycling Facility (MRF) regularly risk injury or health concerns, despite the council's strict protocols.

Additionally, contamination of the MRF, which staff say happens daily, will cost ratepayers an estimated $52,000 every year in staff and equipment costs, unless the situation improves.

House With No Steps has the tender for sorting operations at the facility and 11 of its staff members live with disabilities of some kind.

Mr Trustum said the hardworking bunch shouldn't have to deal with unpleasant finds, which clog the facility, lead to downtime and extra costs and have the potential to traumatise staff.

This follows a Northern Star article published in September last year, in which Mr Trustum said staff were finding several dead animals a week.

"We're finding the contamination rate is about 3% to 5%. It can be nappies, sharps, asbestos, food and garden waste, rope, computer towers, microwaves and things like that," he said.

"Some of the strangest things we've found include dead puppies and a couple of dead roosters.

"We've even had plastic bags full of sharps put in a recycling bins and spill through the truck. This means we have to shut the facility down for about half a day.

"It's particularly frustrating because we have staff from House With No Steps and it affects them significantly."

Mr Trustum said Nimbin is a hotspot for the incorrect disposal of sharps, but he thinks its regular influx of tourists likely contributes.

"We're looking at ways of promoting the correct way of recycling through tourism providers in that area," he said.

"Some people in the region recycle really well, but we understand some people have a lot of other things going on in their lives, so we just ask you put rubbish in the main garbage bin instead."

Mr Trustum was pleased to report no staff have been injured since the MRF opened on May 20, 2014.

"We're been fortunate and we're pretty happy our procedures are holding up so far," he said.

Items MRF staff have found in recycling bins:

Syringes

Asbestos

Dead animals, including puppies and roosters

Electrical appliances, including computer towers and microwaves

Vehicle parts such as radiators and fans