Unhappy residents slam council’s ‘ugly’ new bins
Residents of a Sydney council area are up in arms over a new bin they believe to be "ugly", dysfunctional, and a grand waste of taxpayer money.
Household composting bins are being distributed across Randwick City Council area, in the city's east, this week in a broad-scale effort to reduce the volume of waste ending up in landfill.
The revolutionary program recycling food organics and garden organics (FOGO) was trialled in late 2014 and early 2013 with 600 households in the Randwick council zone, and was well received by participants at the time.
Feedback on the scheme's rollout this week however has not been as positive due to what recipients believed to be "embarrassing" design flaws, especially when compared to the trial version.
Many residents took their FOGO bin grievances online on Friday to exchange thoughts on the neighbourhood initiative, with most agreeing the council could have done far better.
One person, sharing to a community group, labelled the small household buckets "the worst design in history", saying it made for a poor use of space, came with ill-fitting bags and was weak in construction.
She wasn't the only unimpressed resident, with more than 100 others expressing their own issues with the buckets, which the council claimed was a more economical way to dispose of household organics.
"What a terrible waste of our money," one said, with others labelling them "completely useless" and "embarrassing really".
"I’ve got arthritis in my hands and there’s absolutely no way I can get those bags to fit the bin. Ridiculous. And the lid doesn’t close properly. Hubby and I just stood there going is this the best they could do?" another said.
Several complained about the lid not fitting properly, which caused the prevalence of fruit flies.
"The lid doesn’t close properly and bags won’t fit. You almost have to tear them to make them fit and if you put the handle up to 'close' the lid, the carry handles of the bag cause for the bag to come out again," someone said.
"Omg I so agree! I really wondered if the person who designed it actually tried it out first. Horrible!" another added.
Many argued the bin used in the trial was flawless compared to what arrived on people's doorsteps this week.
"Some of us were part of the trial and the bin was not the same. Squarer edges and the bags fit fine. So now they roll it out with this? I’m keeping my trial bin," one wrote.
"I love the FOGO concept, but yeah, the bags didn't fit the bin and I was confused," another said.
Randwick mayor Danny Said claimed the bins were the best way to ensure residents weren't charged more in fees due to waste processors in 2019 refusing to separate organic waste from regular waste usually combined in red roadside bins.
"Unfortunately your entire red rubbish bin now goes to landfill. This means it costs us more to dispose of your waste, it costs you more in your domestic waste management charge and it costs the environment dearly," Mr Said said.
"With the average rubbish bin in Australia containing about 40 per cent food and organic waste, councils across Australia have been looking for better alternatives."
Yahoo News Australia has contacted Randwick City Council for comment.
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