Bin dispute creates Christmas stink for thousands of Aussies
Two dozen Sydney suburbs won't have their bins collected as scheduled, leaving residents frustrated this Christmas.
Tens of thousands of residents are facing a Christmas stink this year after a dispute with waste collectors caused major disruption to the festive bin schedule.
Residents across 24 suburbs in Sydney's west will not have their bins collected on Christmas Day or Boxing Day due to strike action from garbage truck drivers.
Blacktown City Council warned other suburbs could face further delays as they deal with a backlog of collections. Council says it had successfully sought orders from the NSW Industrial Commission to prohibit strike action during the period, however it has not been followed by workers.
CEO of Blacktown City Council Kerry Robinson said the decision to go ahead with the strike had left council "very disappointed". "We expected that our drivers would have obeyed the law," he said responding to disgruntled residents on Facebook.
The news was only communicated to the public early on Christmas Day, leaving residents in the local government area of Blacktown frustrated.
Smell of Christmas seafood concerning residents
Residents described the late notice as "terrible" and "very poor" considering the time of year. Several feared the message would not find its way to all residents.
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Others said the amount of seafood consumed on Christmas Day would cause significant sanitary problems.
"There's going to be some pretty smelly streets," one person wrote.
Residents have been told to leave their bins in the street until they are collected.
Waste collector strikes have been common across Australia in 2023, with workers' dispute with company Cleanaway and the City of Sydney over pay and conditions causing widespread disruptions earlier this year.
In October, Sydney's Inner West Council changed its collection of red bins to fortnightly, with the new system's rollout leaving residents furious over what the council admitted were "teething issues".
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