Council conducts a bin inspection and tagging program to ensure that food scraps and recyclables are not going to waste and to improve the use of bin services for waste and recycling.
Waste audits in the council area show that some recyclable items are being placed in the wrong bin and that there is some contamination from incorrect items in recycling bins, which causes problems for recycling efficiency.
Staff conduct a series of fortnightly inspections of waste and recycling or organics bins in selected streets. Each visit involves a visual inspection of the top 30cm of bin contents when the bins are on the kerb for collection.
Bins will be inspected three to four times. Feedback is provided to residents on the way they recycle in the form of one of the following tags attached to bin handles:
- Thank you - your efforts help recycle valuable resources.
- We ask one small favour - for removing items spotted in your bin that shouldn't be in there.
Two further inspections will occur within 12 months after the tagging to provide feedback on recycling improvements within neighbourhoods and to find out the long-term impacts of the education program on recycling behaviour.