'Lots of plastic': NSW council calls out 'lazy' bin problem
A council in northern NSW has called out residents for not using garbage bins correctly.
Byron Shire Council uploaded a photo to Facebook on Thursday of garbage including shopping bags, garbage bags, small milk containers and cushions.
“This is what was found in our FOGO (food organics and garden organics) collection,” the council wrote.
“Lots of plastic!”
The council added the items which weren’t organic, such as the plastic bags, were “contaminants”.
“Remember to check only organic material makes it into your green bin. Then we can have lush, nutrient rich mulch and compost,” it wrote.
On Facebook, people were furious at the carelessness.
One woman called those responsible “lazy and inconsiderate”.
“People are stupid. It's that simple,” one man wrote.
Another man called for an end to single-use plastics.
“Why are people so irresponsible?” another man wrote.
Shocking ads selling white lion and tiger cubs to Aussies appear on Facebook
Woman's horror as SPIDER crawls from her ear after three-day earache
According to the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s green bin audit for 2020, which was released in March, organic collections are mostly contaminated by rubber, oil, plastics and containerised food.
Analysing six council areas, the department found on average each household had 0.27kg each week of contaminated materials in their green bins. This equated to 2.2 per cent of the bin’s material.
The audit found the weekly FOGO services “are performing well”.
“Promoting these types of configurations and services could therefore be beneficial for increasing food waste diversion,” the report reads.
However, it also found between one third to three quarters of residents are “ disposing food waste in residual waste bins but not FOGO bins”.
The council has been contacted for further comment.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
