Canterbury-Bankstown Council bin debacle: Barbara Coorey calls on Mayor Khal Asfour to resign, council de-merge

Shock revelations some southwest Sydney residents have had their general waste and recycling bins mixed together by rubbish collectors has triggered calls for the mayor to resign in response to the debacle.

Shock revelations some Canterbury-Bankstown residents have had their general waste and recycling bins mixed together by rubbish collectors has led to calls for the mayor to resign and the amalgamated council to demerge.

Reports recently emerged detailing how, for the best part of a decade, workers would load yellow-lid recycling and red-lid waste bins onto the same truck when it was unable to back down narrow streets.

Former Canterbury deputy mayor and sitting Canterbury-Bankstown councillor Barbara Coorey told Canterbury-Bankstown Express the bin failure was a direct result of the chaos which came with the council merger, as well as Mayor Khal Asfour’s prioritisation of Bankstown over Canterbury.

“It appears this mayor has been Bankstown-centric since day one of the merger. Residents are fed up with it, it’s the main reason why I’ve been elected,” Ms Coorey said.

“If he can’t control it, and represent my area as well as his area, resign and hand it over to someone else who can do the job.”

Mayor Khal Asfour has rejected calls to resign after a long-term recycling problem was revealed. Picture: Tim Hunter.

When Ms Coorey’s claims were put to Mr Asfour, he told the Express he would not get into a slanging match with his fellow councillor and that she should stop grandstanding and focus on her community.

“The bottom line is I won’t be resigning,” Mr Asfour said. “I’ve been elected to fix the mess and the stuff ups of the former Canterbury Council, a council Ms Coorey was once a part of.

Councillor Barbara Coorey said the recycling bin mess was a consequence of creating a council that stretches from Tempe to Villawood. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

“I have very clearly said that when I became aware of the full extent of the waste situation, I ordered an immediate review. And let me assure the community, if changes need to be made we will work with them to ensure a fair and reasonable outcome.”

In response, Ms Coorey said: “He has had control and been the mayor of my area for six years. I have only been back on this mega council for seven months. That says it all.”

Ms Coorey has been pushing for a demerger since winning a seat in the last local government elections, claiming the new council — which stretches as far as Tempe to Villawood — is too large to function the way it used to. The council was merged in 2016.

“They’ve taken their focus off the bread and butter issues that residents demand,” she said.

“That’s footpaths, rehabilitation, road construction, pothole construction, replacement of playground equipment, cleaning of alleyways and laneways, manual cleaning of every street.”

A recycling sign in the Canterbury-Bankstown council area. The council has come under fire after residents found their recycling bins were being mixed with general waste. Picture: Paul Brescia

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour, in a statement released on Thursday, said he shared the frustrations of some residents and called for a review of council’s waste operations.

“This is an issue I take very seriously,” he said.

“But I want to stress that this (mixing general waste and recycling bins) is not happening across the city, but in a handful of hard to access streets.

“This is about public safety, and our larger trucks accessing narrow streets with cars parked either side. I’ll move heaven and earth to sort this out.”