Fines, recycling bans introduced for Mornington Peninsula households
Bin police will be snapping pictures of rubbish on the Mornington Peninsula, with “bad recyclers” hit with fines and forced to undergo education sessions.
South East
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Rubbish recyclers will be banned, fined up to $660 and forced to undergo education sessions by a Melbourne council cracking down on bin breaches.
The Herald Sun can reveal Mornington Peninsula Shire residents who lose their recycling rights would be forced to keep paying a $327 waste levy while serving a three month ban.
The tough new measures are part of a policy being introduced from July 1 to tackle the rising cost of contaminated recycling, which the council says adds about $600,000 to its annual waste bill.
The council will carry out random bin checks with photographic evidence to track households using their bins incorrectly.
Those caught three times in six months will be fined between $330 and $660.
Residents caught breaking the rules four times in six months would have their collection suspended for three months.
Households would have to sign a pledge to do the right thing, attend at least one education session and gain council approval before collection resumed.
The council warned it would permanently stop collection services if it was not convinced the household would follow the rules.
Mornington Peninsula Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association president John Cain said while he supported recycling, the new measures were “draconian”
“They’ve gone too far. How can they justify charging people for a service they aren’t receiving?” Mr Cain said.
He also questioned how bin use could be policed by households.
“What happens when someone comes along on collection day and puts the wrong rubbish in my bin?
Mayor Despi O’Connor said a single, contaminated bin could result in whole truck load being sent to landfill instead of the shire’s sorting centre, Polytrade.
“A contaminated bin or truck load is not only a burden to the environment adding to landfill, but also comes at a significant cost,” Cr O’Connor said.
“We know recycling can be confusing. The Shire’s waste education program aims to encourage households to recycle correctly.”
According to the council the top recycling sins included bagging recyclables, putting household rubbish and garden waste in the wrong bin and trying to recycle “soft, scrunchable plastics”, textiles and polystyrene.
Mornington Peninsula Shire is not the first council to crack down on recycling.
Inner-city Yarra Council recently considered introducing bin inspections to check lids were down and cardboard waste had been flattened.
Find out exactly what you can and can’t pop in the bin with the blue lid here.
