Garbage collectors in Sydney’s Inner West were met with overflowing bins and angry residents this week, as the council’s controversial new fortnightly rubbish collection policy began.

The change from weekly to fortnightly general waste collection aims to reduce the amount of waste going into landfill.

The council representatives acknowledged that the switch-up may be 'challenging at first' but reassured that the environmental impact will be 'significant'.

Sydney Inner West residents were faced with overflowing garbage and a sticker slapped onto the lids of their bins indicating which day of the week their garbage will be collected. Image source: Facebook.

Residents who missed the announcement were faced with overflowing garbage, with a ‘frustrating’ sticker slapped onto the lids, reminding them of what day rubbish will be taken out in future.

This came at a time when temperatures in Sydney are forecasted to hit 30°C on multiple days.

An Inner West local talked about the bins in his area on social media and shared that ‘every bin in the street is full'.

'Instead of being picked up, they have all been left full of rubbish with this sticker applied. What is one supposed to do in this situation?' He asked.

'Yep, same here in Balmain East. I was going to post the same,' someone replied.

'Could someone from [the] council explain who made the assumption that the general waste bins are less than 50 per cent full each week, or are we getting another new jumbo bin?'

'Vermin will love two weeks of rotting food scraps, great thinking from the council.'

The change was announced last month as part of the Inner West Council’s new waste strategy, but many locals claimed there was insufficient communication.

According to Greens Councillor Marghanita da Cruz from Leichhardt, the rollout is having some 'teething problems'.

'I agree that this has not been rolled out as well as it could have been, there will be teething problems as we roll out this urgent change to 46,000 houses across the Inner West,' she admitted.

'150,000 bins are collected by [the] council from houses and there are another 27,000 MUDs (apartment buildings).'

Food organic and garden organic (FOGO) scraps of households across Balmain, Tempe, Annandale, and Leichhardt must now be placed into a green bin, which will be collected weekly.

However, sanitary products, nappies, and pet litter must be in red bins and will be collected on a fortnightly basis—a decision that many had an issue with.

'We have a lot of smelly nappies that get added to our red bin,' one resident pointed out.

'The same as many households, imagine the smell after a few days of sunshine/heat waves along with all the other rubbish.'

Others praised the council’s initiative as they believe it will benefit the environment in the long-run.

'Did you check the waste calendar on the council website? Not sure why it’s such a problem - this is the first week for the new calendar so just that adjustment and then it’s plain sailing,' one said.

'The other bins don’t need to be emptied as often now that all the FOGO is in the green bins.'

While another added: 'You can book an extra pickup. Just call the council.'

In response to the locals' feedback, Greens member from Balmain, Kobi Shetty said: 'The introduction of food organic and garden organic (FOGO) bins in the Inner West is a win for our community that will help us greatly reduce the volume of waste going to landfill in our area.'

'While it is a welcome improvement, it is deeply unfortunate that the introduction of FOGO has gotten off to such a rough start…This change needs to be done well so it doesn’t put residents off something which is really positive for our community.'

'I understand people are feeling frustrated by this process, and I’m here to help. If you need an additional bin collection, or if you’re yet to receive your FOGO bin, please contact me directly and I will escalate this with Council staff.'

Key Takeaways

• The council of Sydney's Inner West has changed the bin collection schedule from weekly to fortnightly, which has led to frustration among residents.
• Many residents were reportedly not informed about this change and found their waste not being collected, causing a problem, especially with hot weather.
• Greens Councillor Marghanita da Cruz from Leichhardt admitted that the rollout was not as smooth as expected.
• Green bins for food organic and garden organic (FOGO) scraps will be collected weekly, whereas items like sanitary products, nappies, and pet litter must be in red bins and will be collected fortnightly.

Have you been affected by the change to fortnightly bin collections? How have you been dealing with it? Share your tips and experiences below to help other Aussies adapt to the new rubbish routine!

 

[Veggiepatch]

Decreased landfill = increased roadside litter whether it be from overflowing bins or people being lazy or get fed up.
Counterproductive if you ask me.

 

[Keswickian]

Our FOGO goes in the green bin, recyclables are washed and put in the yellow topped bin, hardly anything goes in the general waste bin so it only goes out every 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[Keswickian]

Decreased landfill = increased roadside litter whether it be from overflowing bins or people being lazy or get fed up.
Counterproductive if you ask me.

'People being lazy' - that's one of the biggest problems we face.

 

[Meredy Andrew]

The Victor Harbor council here in SA introduced this system a few years ago. Park bins now always overflowing as this is where people dump their excess. Bins always overflowing & wind blows & stuff everywhere. It's largely a tourist town, so not a good look. Lots of holiday homes & air bnb turnover, so fortnightly collection doesn't really work.

 

[Rexdog]

Garbage collectors in Sydney’s Inner West were met with overflowing bins and angry residents this week, as the council’s controversial new fortnightly rubbish collection policy began.

The change from weekly to fortnightly general waste collection aims to reduce the amount of waste going into landfill.

The council representatives acknowledged that the switch-up may be 'challenging at first' but reassured that the environmental impact will be 'significant'.

View attachment 32054

Sydney Inner West residents were faced with overflowing garbage and a sticker slapped onto the lids of their bins indicating which day of the week their garbage will be collected. Image source: Facebook.

Residents who missed the announcement were faced with overflowing garbage, with a ‘frustrating’ sticker slapped onto the lids, reminding them of what day rubbish will be taken out in future.

This came at a time when temperatures in Sydney are forecasted to hit 30°C on multiple days.

An Inner West local talked about the bins in his area on social media and shared that ‘every bin in the street is full'.

'Instead of being picked up, they have all been left full of rubbish with this sticker applied. What is one supposed to do in this situation?' He asked.

'Yep, same here in Balmain East. I was going to post the same,' someone replied.

'Could someone from [the] council explain who made the assumption that the general waste bins are less than 50 per cent full each week, or are we getting another new jumbo bin?'

'Vermin will love two weeks of rotting food scraps, great thinking from the council.'

The change was announced last month as part of the Inner West Council’s new waste strategy, but many locals claimed there was insufficient communication.

According to Greens Councillor Marghanita da Cruz from Leichhardt, the rollout is having some 'teething problems'.

'I agree that this has not been rolled out as well as it could have been, there will be teething problems as we roll out this urgent change to 46,000 houses across the Inner West,' she admitted.

'150,000 bins are collected by [the] council from houses and there are another 27,000 MUDs (apartment buildings).'

Food organic and garden organic (FOGO) scraps of households across Balmain, Tempe, Annandale, and Leichhardt must now be placed into a green bin, which will be collected weekly.

However, sanitary products, nappies, and pet litter must be in red bins and will be collected on a fortnightly basis—a decision that many had an issue with.

'We have a lot of smelly nappies that get added to our red bin,' one resident pointed out.

'The same as many households, imagine the smell after a few days of sunshine/heat waves along with all the other rubbish.'

Others praised the council’s initiative as they believe it will benefit the environment in the long-run.

'Did you check the waste calendar on the council website? Not sure why it’s such a problem - this is the first week for the new calendar so just that adjustment and then it’s plain sailing,' one said.

'The other bins don’t need to be emptied as often now that all the FOGO is in the green bins.'

While another added: 'You can book an extra pickup. Just call the council.'

In response to the locals' feedback, Greens member from Balmain, Kobi Shetty said: 'The introduction of food organic and garden organic (FOGO) bins in the Inner West is a win for our community that will help us greatly reduce the volume of waste going to landfill in our area.'

'While it is a welcome improvement, it is deeply unfortunate that the introduction of FOGO has gotten off to such a rough start…This change needs to be done well so it doesn’t put residents off something which is really positive for our community.'

'I understand people are feeling frustrated by this process, and I’m here to help. If you need an additional bin collection, or if you’re yet to receive your FOGO bin, please contact me directly and I will escalate this with Council staff.'

Key Takeaways

• The council of Sydney's Inner West has changed the bin collection schedule from weekly to fortnightly, which has led to frustration among residents.
• Many residents were reportedly not informed about this change and found their waste not being collected, causing a problem, especially with hot weather.
• Greens Councillor Marghanita da Cruz from Leichhardt admitted that the rollout was not as smooth as expected.
• Green bins for food organic and garden organic (FOGO) scraps will be collected weekly, whereas items like sanitary products, nappies, and pet litter must be in red bins and will be collected fortnightly.

Have you been affected by the change to fortnightly bin collections? How have you been dealing with it? Share your tips and experiences below to help other Aussies adapt to the new rubbish routine!

Our council (Knox City) in Melbourne is under the illusion that half our general waste is food scraps and we are told to put these into our green waste bin freeing up space in the little general waste bin now collected fortnightly. I must not be throwing out enough food waste probably because I have always used a compost bin.

 

[PrincessFiFi]

Our council (Knox City) in Melbourne is under the illusion that half our general waste is food scraps and we are told to put these into our green waste bin freeing up space in the little general waste bin now collected fortnightly. I must not be throwing out enough food waste probably because I have always used a compost bin.

I really like the changes implemented in Knox, it just takes a little bit of thought and sometimes a little extra storage before putting items into the bin. For instance, if we have leftover food that is inedible, then I will freeze that until collection day, then put into the green waste bin. Anything organic, including food waste can be composted by the council. This includes vegetable & food scraps, leftover food, dairy, eggshells, meat, bones, fish, soft shell seafood, citrus, onion, garlic, coffee grounds, tea leaves, paper towel, tissues, newspaper, garden prunings, grass, weeds, branches and vacuum fluff. Many of these organic items I would not normally compost at home.

Those who have additional needs for general rubbish who have multiple children in nappies or those who have medical needs can get an allowance for extra rubbish. They need to contact the council to arrange this.

When the supermarkets get recycling of soft plastics up and running again then our general waste bin (which we reduced from 120L to 80L) will be put out rarely. Batteries go to Officeworks or Bunnings. E-waste can also go to Officeworks, just check their website for items that they accept. Paint goes to paintback. Clothing goes to op shops or used as rags and then binned in general rubbish. Much of our unwanted furniture is put out the front of our property and picked up by locals.

There were issues when the system was first introduced, but as time goes on people adapt. While there will always be those who don't like change and don't like to be told what to do, the new system appears to be working and I'm all for something that improves our disposal of rubbish.

 

[June E]

All very well if you get a green bin ! They were delivered to our area a month or so ago.
I’m not entitled one, like plenty of other people, because we live in duplexes
Maybe people who live in duplexes aren’t supposed to eat or cut their grass.

 

[Liz]

I am in Brisbane and if they collected the red bins only every 2nd week, I can imagine the maggot problem would be even worse than it is now. Living in a unit complex, people are lazy and don't rinse things out before putting them in either red or yellow bins. If it comes here, are council going to come and clean our bins for us, I think not. It is up to those of us who do it now and we are seniors and it is getting harder and harder to keep yellow and red bins clean expecially in the heat. And what about our bin men are there wages going to be cut for only coming around fortnightly.

 

[June E]

I am in Brisbane and if they collected the red bins only every 2nd week, I can imagine the maggot problem would be even worse than it is now. Living in a unit complex, people are lazy and don't rinse things out before putting them in either red or yellow bins. If it comes here, are council going to come and clean our bins for us, I think not. It is up to those of us who do it now and we are seniors and it is getting harder and harder to keep yellow and red bins clean expecially in the heat. And what about our bin men are there wages going to be cut for only coming around fortnightly.

They should get more seeing as they have to cope with maggots and extra smells. Can’t see councils doing that though !

 

[Keswickian]

I am in Brisbane and if they collected the red bins only every 2nd week, I can imagine the maggot problem would be even worse than it is now. Living in a unit complex, people are lazy and don't rinse things out before putting them in either red or yellow bins. If it comes here, are council going to come and clean our bins for us, I think not. It is up to those of us who do it now and we are seniors and it is getting harder and harder to keep yellow and red bins clean expecially in the heat. And what about our bin men are there wages going to be cut for only coming around fortnightly.

My red topped general rubbish bin only goes out every 2 - 3 weeks and I've never had a maggot or smell problem. It just takes a bit of good hygiene with waste management.

 

[Liz]

My red topped general rubbish bin only goes out every 2 - 3 weeks and I've never had a maggot or smell problem. It just takes a bit of good hygiene with waste management.

Yes it does but in a unit complex you have the few people who don't care. I clean out the bins when I am able to but the offenders don't bother to help. Some of us put bin liners in to stop the problem and it does but you cannot change some people's bad habit.