Clover Moore under fire as residents threaten to stop paying rates over Sydney garbage bin strike

Sydney’s broken down rubbish collection has residents questioning why they should pay their council rates, with fed up locals threatening to stop forking out until their waste is collected.

Fed up inner city residents are threatening to boycott paying their rates, citing Sydney’s waste collection breakdown as the reason.

The growing crisis resulting in the city’s streets becoming “filthy” with refuse has hit a new high with up to 24,000 rubbish bins going uncollected on Tuesday – while a backlog of bulky waste pick-ups has resulted in new collections being suspended for almost a month.

The City of Sydney has pinned the blame on industrial action by garbage truck drivers against their employer, with Lord Mayor Clover Moore holding urgent meetings with the city’s cleaning contractor Cleanaway’s chief executive to discuss the crisis.

But the measures mean little to angry councillors who say the Lord Mayor has presided over months of worsening rubbish collections unrelated to the latest industrial action.

Outraged Councillor Yvonne Weldon said the situation had reached “crisis point” and left people living in filthy streets, with waves of residents calling her and questioning whether they would pay their rates.

Rubbish is piling up in Sydney’s inner suburbs. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Inconsistent waste collection has left some suburbs at a ‘crisis point’. Picture: John Grainger

“I’ve had emails and phone calls from residents who are threatening to not pay rates,” she said.

“In fact, I’ve spoken to some residents who have had to fork out to dispose of waste by other means. They want to know if the City of Sydney will reimburse them.”

Councillor Yvonne Weldon blasted the situation and urged City of Sydney to help residents. Picture: Tim Hunter.

She said it was time for the council to at least allow residents to drop off large items at a depot, like other councils.

Labor Clr Linda Scott said she was being “overwhelmed with complaints from every corner of the city of Sydney experiencing missed waste collections”.

Liberal Clr Shauna Jarrett added the Lord Mayor’s “Team Clover” “should be delivering basic council services and also promoting Sydney as Australia’s global city rather than let it be run down with filthy streets and a lack of services”.

A spokesman for Lord Mayor Clover Moore confirmed she had met with the management of Cleanaway “and urged them to resolve the industrial dispute as soon as possible to return the high level of service expected”.

Rubbish left out in Alexandria Lane, Surry Hills amid strike action from drivers. Picture: John Grainger

“The current industrial dispute and service disruptions are not related to other City expenditure and would not be solved by cutting budget line items. There has been no reprioritisation away from essential waste services,” he said.

The Lord Mayor added following their meeting with Cleanaway that she had been assured “bulky waste services will resume as normal from the end of next week, with additional resources being allocated specifically to this service”.

Darlinghurst resident Patrick Mazza was one constituent who threatened to boycott paying his rates.

“What am I paying rates for? One of the council’s key responsibilities is waste and vermin control and they’re not doing it,” he said.

“You’d be hard pressed finding a house under two million dollars in my street … and we’re dealing with this.”

Surry Hills resident Julie Waters has old appliances piling up in her lounge room after council paused collections. Picture: John Grainger

At the same time Surry Hills resident Julie Waters has had to live with a broken down stove and clothes dryer sitting in her loungeroom since December.

Unluckily for the retiree, both large items stopped working just as the council stopped its normal collection on bulky items.

“It’s been a nightmare,” she said.

“My stove died the week before Christmas, and my clothes dryer also died in December and they are both still sitting in my loungeroom waiting to be collected.”