City of Sydney council push to rid streets of garbage bin clutter

Residents in inner Sydney, could soon require a permit if they want to leave their bins on the kerb, as part of a bid to rid the streets of clutter.

Main: A cluster of bins on a Surry Hills street, Inset: City of Sydney Councillor Adam Worling

Residents in inner Sydney who leave their bins out long after collection day could soon require a parking permit to do so, in a bid to crack down on waste containers cluttering the streets.

The bold plan is part of a broader strategy which will be floated at City of Sydney’s Monday night council meeting, aimed at changing bad behaviour around bin collection.

According to councillor Adam Worling, out of the council’s 100,000 garbage bins, too many are left kerbside long after collection day, with residents in Surry Hills, Alexandria and Zetland the worst offenders.

In a comprehensive motion, Cr Worling said the superfluous waste containers were an obstructive hazard to pedestrians, and a food source for vermin such as bin chickens and rodents.

Cr Worling’s motion said the bins were also an unpleasant example of visual pollution, “cluttering our streets making them look messy”, and encouraged others to “pile on extra rubbish”, which is often a case of illegal dumping.

A cluster of bins pictured in Surry Hills.

To combat the scourge, Cr Worling has suggested a permit system for on-street bin parking, which could only be available at addresses lacking space to keep bins.

“For instance, terrace houses could be directly on the street, so they get permission with a sticker saying ‘this bin is permitted to be on the street’,” Cr Worling said

A group of bins left on a Surry Hills pavement.

“Then the second sticker says ‘this bin cannot be stored on the street’, you have to take your bins in people.

“It’s just granting really clear guidelines about what’s required, it either must be taken inside or it has permission to be on the street.”

Cr Worling is also calling for bin owners to be held to account, by stickers clearly identifying what belongs to who by matching serial numbers and addresses.

The stickers would also aid council in locating “homeless and abandoned bins”.

More bins left on the footpath in Surry Hills.

In discussions with his community, Cr Worling said the issues was “something that comes up regularly” with council fielding “large volumes of queries and complaints”.

“It’s one of the things I hear constantly, ‘why do people leave their garbage bins out, why don’t they get them off the street’.

“Take your bins in is what I’m asking this city.”

Millers Point resident Robert Carrick said his street, which is “70 per cent Airbnbs” is plagued by bins being left for days at a time.

“Its all cleaning contractors who are not that diligent and they just leave the bins out on the street for days at a time,” he said

“It’s not a great look, it looks terrible, we are proactively trying to get people to put their bins away, it’s a constant battle”

Mr Carrick also said short stay guests tended to generate a “higher proportion of waste”.