Residents slam Byron Shire Council as rubbish bins overflow in popular tourist town

Overflowing rubbish bins in a popular tourist town have caused a stink among residents with some labelling it a “bad look”. See what all the stench is all about.

Byron Bay stink. Picture: Getty Images / Canva

Byron Bay residents have trash-talked their local council after finding shire-owned bins overflowing with rubbish during the peak of the Summer tourist season.

Furious Byron Bay resident Melanie Sainsbury took to Facebook on Friday to slam Byron Shire Council, saying the foul find on Lawson St was “not good enough for our beautiful town”.

“This is really not good enough, so many visitors to our beautiful town are clearly trying to do the right thing and put their rubbish in the bins,” Ms Sainsbury wrote.

An overflowing bin on Byron’s main drag Lawson St. Picture: Facebook

Many other residents in the tourist town have shared their own photos of other overflowing bins and have called on the council to increase collections.

“So typical of Byron Council,” Margaret Cunningham wrote on social media.

“There is enough revenue from paid parking to have a daily collection. Short sightedness and poor planning,” Adrian Nelson added.

A second Byron bin was posted in the thread. Picture: Facebook

Byron Shire Mayor Michael Lyon deflected the pile-on, saying “sometimes slip-ups happen” and that “we are working on rectifying this as soon as possible”.

He then went on to say that “we aren’t sure what exactly has occurred here” and “one individual may have dumped all their rubbish and bottles overnight after Christmas celebrations”. He acknowledged the issue was “not good”.

Some residents defended council, saying staff couldn’t work 24/7 and “also needed to go home to their families at some point”.

Others blamed a surge in tourism numbers over the Christmas holiday period, but rebuttals were fierce.

“How many years will it take for them to realise the surge and prepare for it. Really,” Ms Sainsbury said

Conversely, the council implemented tough restrictions in 2021 on people littering the township’s beaches, saying fines of up to $250 would be issued to those caught trashing the beach or smoking cigarettes on the sand.