Fury over council’s divisive bin change reignited after ‘disgusting’ find
Other annoyed Aussies vented their frustrations over the FOGO bin rollout, which continues to cause controversy.
Frustrations over the controversial FOGO bin rollout continue to grow in cities across Australia, with residents now expressing fears for their health as summer temperatures leave their food scraps “swarming with maggots” and “covered in flies”.
An annoyed man living in Sydney’s inner west vented this week that as a result of the new system, his large green bin “has become the most disgusting thing ever now that food is put in it in biodegradable containers”.
“Ours is covered in flies, stinks to high heaven and when I just had a look is swarming with maggots inside,” he posted on a community Facebook page, asking others if they have encountered the same issues following the introduction of the Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) bin.
“Seems to be a public health hazard if this is [a] broad issue. We even rinse our bins out each week after collection,” he wrote alongside photos of maggots crawling on top of food waste in his large green bin.
Despite the FOGO bins being collected on a weekly basis, “the issue of flies and maggots are still a problem for many,” another local agreed. Others said the Inner West Council’s move to rollout the FOGO bins late last year just in time for summer, instead of winter, was “a big mistake”. “I gave up on it,” someone else simply stated.
Some residents suggested the flies, maggots and stinky rubbish already existed in the red bin under the previous system. "What bin were you putting all this stuff in before you began putting it in your green bin?" someone asked.
“The presence of maggots in FOGO bins has nothing to do with the existence of a FOGO system," another said. "And everything to do with how the individual collects and bins their FOGO waste.”
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Bin flies can spread diseases
After reviewing the images of the maggot-infested FOGO wheelie bin, insect ecologist Emeritus Professor Myron Zalucki told Yahoo News Australia it looks like flies — which he confirmed can spread diseases — are “breeding in the food scraps”.
House flies “carry a large number of pathogens which can cause serious infections in humans and animals”, according to a BMC Public Health study, however “more studies are needed to identify new pathogens carried by the house fly”.
“House flies usually feed and reproduce in faeces, animal manure, carrion and other decaying organic substances, and thus live in intimate association with various microorganisms including human pathogens, which may stick to body surfaces of the fly,” the study states. “The constant back and forth movement of house flies between their breeding sites and human dwellings can lead to the transmission of pathogens to humans and animals.”
Professor Zalucki said bins should be cleaned more regularly and sealed properly to help reduce the problem. He also proposed the bins should be collected twice a week in the summer. Yahoo News Australia has contacted the Inner West Council for comment.
Freezing meat, garden waste helps deter insects
To avoid insects and pests in each household’s green wheelie bin, the Inner West Council suggests residents “freeze meat, fish and dairy scraps until bin night”, which numerous locals say is not a plausible solution.
“Most people with families are unlikely to have freezer storage for scraps,” one person said online. “We don’t have a freezer or fridge to leave the filled green bags in, so they go straight into the big green bin and then this happens. This concept just doesn’t work,” another agreed.
Despite the inconvenience, one local said because “meat is the biggest culprit”, freezing such waste and waiting until bin day to chuck it out does help. Others said they had not encountered any problems by burying the food waste in leaves and other garden waste.
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