Northern Beaches Council asked to explain why it combines recycled material with general garbage
Residents have criticised Northern Beaches Council for throwing the contents of public recycling bins into the same trucks that collect ordinary rubbish — but there is a reason why.
Manly
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Northern Beaches Council has defended itself against criticism that it chucks the contents of public recycle bins and general rubbish bins into the same garbage trucks.
Residents say they have spotted council workers emptying public bins that are meant for recyclable bottles and cans into trucks alongside foods scraps and fast food wrappers from general waste bins.
A resident posted photographs on a Manly-based community Facebook page purporting to show council staff emptying the recycle bins and general waste bins, installed on The Corso, into the same garbage truck.
But the council said rubbish collectors sometimes have to empty the recycle bins into the general waste stream because the public throw too much garbage into the recycle bins.
In an effort to encourage more public recycling, the council is now reviewing and updating signage for bins in high-traffic tourist and commercial centres on the northern beaches.
The council pointed out that its waste collectors have to make an decision on the run about extent of the contamination in recycling bins and whether it will contaminate the rest of the material in the recycling truck.
If they see high levels of contamination in a recycling bin, they have to empty it into the general waste truck.
The council also said that bins inside garbage and recycling enclosures can be any colour, including yellow or green, and can be mistaken by people seeing all the bins being emptied into one truck.
However, the council wanted to reassure residents that any recyclables that end up in the general waste pile were now processed at a specialist facility that sorts and extracts any recyclable materials.
Council’s CEO Ray Brownlee said it was 100 per cent committed to diverting as much waste as possible from landfill.
“Since July 2019 over 67 tonnes of recycling has been recovered from the public place recycling bins,” Mr Brownlee said.
“We urge the community to be mindful of where their rubbish goes, not just at home but also when they are out in our town centres and reserves.
“We are also reviewing and updating signage for bins to encourage better recycling in our tourist and commercial centres.”
Councillor David Walton told the Facebook group that he had requested a response from council management “on the recycling issues apparent from the photo and post by residents.”