‘Unhygienic’: Dad fuming at Sydney council’s change to garbage bin collection

“At what point can we opt to leave our bins on the council doorstep? I don’t want my smelly bins festering for weeks on end around my kids...” 

Three weeks ago, an Inner West Sydney council announced it was making drastic changes to its bin collection schedule, launching the suburbs into chaos as they scramble to figure out what’s happening. 

Rubbish is left rotting in the sun for weeks before someone comes to collect it, leaving the streets looking like a mess.

Now, the residents are kicking up a stink and demanding change.

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"Why was this program launched with so little oversight?" slams a resident. Source: Facebook

“Vermin will love two weeks of rotting food scraps”

In early October, the Inner West Council announced it was changing its general garbage collection from weekly to fortnightly.

In its place are food organics and garden organics (FOGO) bins, intended for food scraps and green waste, which will be collected weekly.

This move encourages residents to put their unwanted food in the FOGO bins, which will be collected more regularly than general garbage. “The idea is that all that smelly food and garden waste, we're trying to get it out of there, and we are collecting it more often,” said Greens Councillor Marghanita da Cruz. 

But not everyone is jumping for joy at the change, with locals claiming “every bin in the street is full” and isn’t being collected for weeks on end.

As the bins are left out in the sun, the food begins to rot and stink, and even as residents complain to their council, it appears nothing is being done to fix it, leaving them no choice but to air their grievances on local Facebook groups. 

“Why was this program launched with so little oversight?” a resident complained. “Bins have been sitting out for an extensive period without being collected. This is literally council 101! I can confirm that missed collection reports are being ignored.”

“Vermin will love two weeks of rotting food scraps, great thinking from council,” commented another.

“At what point can we opt to leave our bins on the council doorstep? I don’t want my smelly bins festering for weeks on end around my kids,” a parent commented. 

“We have a lot of smelly nappies that get added to our red bin,” read another. “The same as many households, imagine the smell after a few days of sunshine/heatwaves along with all the other rubbish.” 

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The new changes were introduced in early October. Source: Facebook

“We have twin babies, so what are we to do with all the dirty nappies?”

It is particularly worrying for new dad, Peter, who has pressed the council about the changes. He argues the fortnightly collection schedule is maddening and exposes his twin babies to an “unhygienic” environment. 

“All residents are frustrated with this rushed change with no consultation and no information,” Peter told Yahoo News Australia. 

“We have twin babies, so what are we to do with all the dirty nappies? Leave them in the bin for two weeks? I don't think so.” 

He told the outlet his complaints have gone unnoticed, enraging him further. 

“I think they should have a red bin full of dirty nappies for two weeks and see if they like it,” he said. 

“There has been no communication from council on these changes and what we are to do with our normal red garbage. The only information we have received is from news reports.” 

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The bins are overflowing for weeks on end. Source: Facebook, Yahoo News Australia

Sydney council concedes garbage collection changes is a “mess”

Greens Councillor Marghanita da Cruz conceded that the schedule change is a “mess” and has been experiencing “teething problems.” 

“I agree that this has not been rolled out as well as it could have been, there will be teething problems as we roll out this urgent change to 46,000 houses across the Inner West,” she told Yahoo News. “150,000 bins are collected by council from houses, and there are another 27,000 MUDs (multi-unit developments).” 

She added the council is working to fix it as fast as possible, especially for those “who will have used nappies and continence beds.” 

“It is recognised as an issue, and council is asking these people to contact us so that we can actually work with them on their needs,” da Cruz said. “And, of course, we don't want rotting, unsanitary things.”

According to Inner West Council, residents can request an extra rubbish pick-up for their general garbage, with bookings required online. 

“I understand people are feeling frustrated by this process, and I’m here to help,” assured Kobi Shetty, Greens member for Balmain. “If you need an additional bin collection, or if you’re yet to receive your FOGO bin, please contact me directly, and I will escalate this with Council staff.” 

Kidspot has reached out to Marghanita da Cruz for comment.

Originally published as ‘Unhygienic’: Dad fuming at Sydney council’s change to garbage bin collection