Is this the most annoying sound ever? St Kilda residents think so

These St Kilda residents are being jolted awake in the wee hours of the morning by the “deafening” noise. Would you be able to sleep through this?

Residents are fuming after their desperate pleas to council to relocate a recycling-for-cash container were handballed, despite early morning collections emitting a “deafening” noise.

For over a month, young families and couples in an apartment complex on Barkly St have been woken as early as 6.30am to the sound of hundreds of glass bottles and metal cans being loaded into the back of trucks.

The big, blue Return-It container behind their building is one of hundreds of Reverse Vending Machines across Victoria, as part of a state government recycling initiative introduced in November 2023.

Residents told the Herald Sun they have had to contend with 20-minute long collections at dawn several mornings a week.

One man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he and his neighbours were going insane, unable to sleep because of the disruption.

“People are sleeping in their spare room, I’m sleeping in the spare room as well,” he said.

“I’m not using the bedroom because of the noise of the collection trucks.”

Video captured by residents captures just how loud the sound actually is.

Other residents in the building, including Melissa Munday, 55, and her partner Grant said it was unreasonable to expect residents to put up with the “deafening” noise.

“The level of noise from the bottles and cans being loaded into two trucks is incredible,” Ms Munday said.

She has advocated for the container to be moved out of the densely residential area, floating the possibility of relocating it to a plot of council land instead.

“It affects everyone’s routine because you are woken up well before you need to,” she added.

In an email to a local member of parliament, a pregnant woman who lives in the building said the overwhelming disruption so early in the morning was impacting her “wellbeing”.

“The noise from the machine collection, along with early morning bin collections, is causing significant disturbances, particularly as our bedroom faces the RVM,” she wrote.

“With a baby due soon, I am especially concerned about the impact of this noise on our wellbeing.”

Collection trucks arrive early and spend about 20 minutes at the site. Picture: Brendan Beckett

Port Phillip Council Mayor Heather Cunsolo said complaints from residents had been heard, but deferred the responsibility of a possible relocation to the owner of the container, Return-It

“We take residents’ concerns seriously and will continue to discuss community complaints with Return-It,” Ms Cunsolo said.

“These are largely the noise generated by trucks collecting containers (mainly glass bottles) from the site two to three times a week.

“As the vending machine is on private land and operating within Council land use requirements, including waste collection, any relocation would be a decision for Return-It and Recycling Victoria.”

A Return-It spokesperson said they were aware of the noise complaints raised by residents and had been in regular contact to adjust their collection schedule.

Workers have been instructed to operate after 7am on weekdays and Saturday and 9am on Sunday and public holidays.

Return-It indicated they were trying to “balance accessibility with the residential environment” but would not confirm if there were plans to move the container.