Mornington Peninsula residents in a flap over local council waste audit
When household rubbish started disappearing from Mornington Peninsula bins suspicious locals immediately thought the worst. Here’s what’s really going on.
South East
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Household bins on the Mornington Peninsula are being emptied ahead of scheduled collections, prompting crazy theories about who’s responsible.
Somerville residents recently reported the contents of their rubbish and recycling bins being bagged up and removed at 4am on bin day.
The unusual act sparked wild speculation from locals including an elaborate theory involving illicit drugs being deposited in bins to be collected later by gloved up dealers.
Another popular theory was scavengers on the hunt for bottles and cans to cash in at container depots.
The Herald Sun can reveal the real reason is a lot less sinister.
The rubbish removal was part of a waste audit being conducted for the local council as part of its new kerbside collection contract, which was signed with Solo Resource and Recovery in 2024.
According to a council spokesperson, the cost of the audit component of the contract was “unknown”.
“However, it’s important to note this new contract resulted in an overall cost saving to the community compared to the previous contract.”
The audit covers all townships and involves household waste and recycling being removed from bins and taken to the Dromana Hopper for hand sorting into material that could be recycled now and items that may be considered for recycling in the future.
A worker with the program said once collected there was “no way’ to trace the rubbish back to individual properties.
Information about the audit was sent to residents.
The waste audit would be used to determine if current bin insepctions and ongoing community education had impacted contamination rates.
Mornington Peninsula mayor Anthony Marsh said contaminated recycling and FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) bins cost the shire $440,00 in 2023/24, down from $600,000 in 2021.
The audit comes after the shire introduced harsh penalties for rubbish recyclers in 2021 including fines of up to $660 for bin breaches.
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 threatened to permanently stop collection services if it was not convinced the household would follow the rules.
However, the mayor said it was yet to issue a single fine or send anyone to an education session.
“While there have been incidences of identified gross contamination in either a recycling or FOGO bin these have been directly addressed through information/education notices and/or direct contact with the resident by council staff,” Mr Marsh said.
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