Council threatening not to collect bins with political stickers

A Sydney council is threatening not to collect household bins that have political stickers criticising key political figures.

A Sydney council is threatening not to collect household bins that have stickers featuring key political figures.

The stickers feature images of Barnaby Joyce and Scott Morrison holding a piece of coal and are accompanied by the slogans, “chuck them out” and “bin him”.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hornsby Shire Council warned the bins may not be collected, or would be removed entirely, if the stickers were not removed.

The council’s mayor is NSW Liberal Party president and former Minister in the Howard government, Philip Ruddock.

One Asquith resident said that after putting the stickers on his bin, he received a letter from the Council saying they obscured it’s logo, and that political messages were “not appropriate” on council property.

A Sydney council is threatening not to collect household bins that have political stickers criticising key political figures. Image: Twitter. @SmartVoting2022

The letter advised him to remove the stickers or “risk council’s collection contractor not servicing your bins as they cannot identify council’s logo on the bin,” the Herald reported.

It also threatened that the council may remove the stickers or replace the bins entirely.

Mr Ruddock suggested the resident put the stickers on front of their letterbox.

“Political advertising should not be undertaken except when there’s an election on, and there’s no election on yet. [Also] we don’t believe they should do it on council property,” he said.

A Hornsby Shire Council spokesperson explained the council did not allow unauthorised signage on its property, and would act on complaints from the community.

“The matter was brought to our attention through a complaint from a resident who was offended by the content of the signage. However, this rule would apply to signage of any type applied to council assets where a complaint is made,” the spokesperson said.

Originally published as Council threatening not to collect bins with political stickers