Council’s bin recycling program – setting the record straight

Council’s innovative bin recycling program has hit a new milestone with more than 184,000 bins retrieved, crushed and pelletised, ready to be made into new bins.

Reports that these bins are being deliberately disposed of into landfill are false.

During the usual waste collection process, as a bin is picked up by the hydraulic arms on the old waste trucks, they can be crushed or slip from the grip resulting in the bin being dropped into the truck hopper. Obviously, due to safety reasons, bins can’t be retrieved from the hopper until the truck is unloaded at the landfill site. This is part of the inefficiency of an ageing waste collection system.

Every week between 10 and 20 bins are delivered to Kimbriki in the waste truck hoppers and the usual practice ensures the bins are safely retrieved and recycled. This is a small fraction of the 330,000 bins in households across the Northern Beaches.

Kimbriki has confirmed a one-off case where a few damaged bins from these trucks were inadvertently sent to landfill by a Kimbriki contractor. This is not part of Council’s bin recycling program which is progressing well.

We can assure the community that every endeavour is made to safely and fully recycle these valuable products.