Aussie council's 'bin shaming' move offends 'entire street'

Residents say they've never seen anything like it.

2 min read

October 18, 2024 - 9:23AM

SA council threatens locals with a 'rubbish' fine

Lifestyle

Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News.

Mistakes in rubbish disposal are common as councils regularly change recycling rules, with some even fining residents for leaving bins out too long.

Now one council's method of notifying residents that they've incorrectly recycled something has 'offended' an entire street in Melbourne.

But aren't we all guilty of doing this?

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

Image: Yahoo News

The tag of shame

According to Yahoo News, Essendon mum-of-two Kali took her bins out on the morning they were getting collected and then went to get coffee, thinking nothing more about it.

But when she returned some, she noticed there was something on the side of her bin she hadn't seen before.

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

Attached to the bin's handle was a tag that said in bright red letters, 'Oh no'.

It continues: "We found items that don't belong in your mixed recycling bin."

Then, there was a checklist for the garbage collectors to tick to indicate which offence the resident was guilty of.

Options included; 'soft plastics', 'clothing', 'milk or juice cartons' and 'polystyrene'.

In Kali's case, she had placed 'bagged recycling' in her recycling bin.

At the bottom of the note, the garbo had scrawled: "Reusable shopping bags."

"Talk of the street"

Kali described the note as 'shaming' and looked around the street to see if anyone else had received the same thing.

To her amazement, all but one household had the same note attached to their bin.

Speaking to her neighbour later in the day, she found out that everyone was in 'uproar' about the tags.

"It was the talk of the street," she told the publication.

The mum has lived on the street for over nine years and said she has never witnessed anything as "bizarre" as this.

However, she actually thought the whole situation was a bit funny.

"I thought it was funny that I got bin shamed. I'm sure we're all guilty of [recycling incorrectly], it's an easy mistake," she said.

"Perplexed"

Over in the r/melbourne Reddit thread, others expressed their shock at the new move.

"Whoa - this happens?? I want a smiley face! I take the lids off my bottles and everything!" one proud recycler wrote.

"I received something similar - I was perplexed," another Melbournian wrote.

However, not everyone was against it. "Hallelujah. The amount of doofuses that put bagged rubbish in their recycling and green bins is mind-boggling," one person claimed.

"Yes, my neighbours need to be shamed for how they recycle. Glad the council are taking action," another concluded.