City of Sydney pushing for bin permit stickers

Bins in one of Australia’s major council areas may soon need to be registered and stickered, after a pitch for a new bin rule passed unanimously through council.

The City of Sydney council is looking to require permits for bins to be stored on the kerb when it’s not bin night.

The move was passed unanimously at a meeting on Monday, sparked by concerns over streetside bins smelling bad, blocking foot and vehicle traffic and attracting animals.

Councillor Adam Worling initiated a vote on the issue.

Councillors have now requested the chief executive investigate a “programmed response to systematically and effectively” address issues caused by bins being stored on the street.

“There are terrace houses that step straight onto the footpath, or they don’t have a backyard, so there’s nowhere to store it,” Mr Worling said.

Councillor Adam Worling says Surry Hills is a particularly bad area for obstructive bins being left on the street. Picture: Supplied

“In those situations, you can ask for permission to have your bin stored on the street.”

Receptacles being left out after the bin truck had been by were “cluttering our streets making them look messy”, Mr Worland said, which encouraged other people to “pile on extra rubbish”.

The proposed plan would be a permit system for people to leave their bins on the street.

Homes with no space to leave bins would be given stickers permitting a kerbside resting place.

“Then the second sticker says ‘this bin cannot be stored on the street’,” Mr Worland said.

The City of Sydney council area has some 100,000 residential bins.

The suburbs of Alexandria, Surry Hills and Zetland were most cluttered, he said.

In support of the council motion, residents submitted that areas with high numbers of short term rentals were particularly cluttered with bins left on the roadside.

“Clear and legible labels have the potential to encourage locals to be involved and

engaged in keeping their streets tidy and keeping their neighbours accountable,” the council motion reads.

“(Permit labels) allow residents, neighbours, and city waste collection services and staff to know where the bin belongs and who is responsible for it and return it to the right place. It also helps the city identify abandoned or homeless bins and remove them.”