The councils pushing back against abandoned share bike plague
Some Sydney councils are now pushing back after a spate of broken and abandoned share bikes have been littering the state's streets.
On Monday dozens of bikes were impounded, bound for the trash heap unless operators pay to have them released.
Waverley Council rangers worked to eradicate the red and yellow plague across the eastern suburbs.
"They're going to be taken to a depot in Alexandria and held for a month," Waverly Mayor John Wakefield said. "They'll have to pay a $70 fee for their recovery."
In the space of an hour, more than a dozen share bikes were picked up at Bronte Beach and six from outside Bondi Public School as well as some from Tamarama.
"This is busted breaks.. no breaks," one of the rangers said.
Waverley Council is sending a stern message to the operators - it's had enough of the scourge of bikes littering local streets. So has the community.
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"I absolutely hate them," one man said. "It's not only an eyesore, it's a danger," another told 7 News.
It's an issue right across Sydney with Strathfield Council also starting to impound the bikes.
City of Sydney, Inner West and Woollahra Councils will make a decision at the end of March.
"This new industry is a problem," Mayor Wakefield said. "I'd implore the companies to clean up their act."
Operators say they're willing to work with councils to find a solution.