Contaminated Kerbside Collections FAQs
Dubbo Regional Council have answered some of the community's frequently asked questions about contaminated kerbside collection; including food organics and garden organics (FOGO) and recycling.
Why wasn't my bin collected?
Your bin will not be collected if it is:
- Overfull
- Grossly contaminated with unacceptable items
- Contaminated with hazardous waste
- Not a Council provided mobile garbage bin
- Unable to be accessed due to incorrect positioning or obstacles
- Too heavy (over 65kg)
- Not present at collection time (your bin must be presented before 6am on day of collection)
Why has a sticker been placed on my kerbside recycling or FOGO bin?
A sticker has been placed on your kerbside bin because the collection driver identified a problem with servicing the bin. Bins are most commonly stickered because contamination has been identified. Contamination means that the wrong items have been placed in your bin.
The sticker and any subsequent notice letters intend to inform and educate residents about what are acceptable and unacceptable items for collection.
Why has a ‘Contamination Notice’ letter been sent to me?
Contamination was identified on collection of your recycling or FOGO bin.
Notice letters intend to provide details of the contamination incident to inform and educate residents on acceptable and unacceptable items for collection.
Contamination notices also provide information to the resident about further actions that may be taken if bins continue to be contaminated.
Council will issue you with a series of four contamination letters if you repeatedly contaminate your bins. After the fourth letter has been issued Council may decide to cease collection of your recycling or food and garden organics bin.
Why has Council stopped emptying my recycling or FOGO bin?
Regular contamination is expensive and affects the safety and efficiency of sorting processes at the recycling and organics processing centres. Contamination also harms the environment through increased greenhouse gas emissions and lost resources.
Because of these effects of contamination, Council may cease the collection of the Food and Garden Organics or Recycling bins after four contamination incidents at an address occur over a short time frame.
What do I need to do to start having my recycling or FOGO bin emptied again?
If Council has ceased collection of your recycling or food and garden organics bin, you must move your bins from the kerbside back on to your property. Once all contamination is removed you can contact Council’s Waste Contract and Collection Coordinator on 6801 4000 to discuss how to have your service reinstated.
Please note that if a bin remains on the kerbside after the scheduled collection day it may be investigated as obstructing a roadway or causing nuisance, in which case penalties may apply.
What if someone else contaminated my bin?
To avoid this happening, place your bins out later in the evening or early in the morning. Please note bins must be out by 6am on the day of collection and brought back in to the property by the end of the collection day.
Why does contamination of my recycling or FOGO bin matter?
When recycling and organics bins are contaminated their contents may end up in landfill, wasting valuable materials that could otherwise be used to create new products.
While a large number of residents in the Dubbo Region are proud recyclers and food and garden organics bin users, some households continue to contaminate their recycling and organics undoing the hard work of others. One heavily contaminated bin load of recyclables or food and garden organics can effectively contaminate a whole truck load once it becomes mixed in. At the Materials Recovery Facility (for recyclables) or at Dubbo’s Regional Organics Processing Plant (DROPP) staff hand pick the garbage and contamination out of the recyclables and food and garden organics. This is not a pleasant task.
Therefore, issuing contamination notices and ceasing service to addresses with regular contamination incidents is required as part of a suite of actions to reduce contamination and optimise the volume of resources recovered through kerbside collections.
Contaminated recycling and food and garden organics bin materials may end up in landfill. This prematurely fills our limited landfill space, adds to greenhouse gas emissions and is an extra cost to council and its residents.
Last Edited: 28 Feb 2024