Bin contamination and illegal rubbish dumping have spiked in Maribyrnong following COVID-19 restrictions.
Maribyrnong council is advising residents not to leave home to donate goods during the pandemic, “with recycling and charity bins being overwhelmed by dumped waste”.
“Leaving your home to recycle and donate items is not deemed ‘essential’, and residents are advised to hold on to these items until restrictions are lifted,” the council said in a written statement.
“Please also remember to sort your waste and use your bins correctly.”
Infrastructure services director Steve Hamilton said the municipality accepted all plastic codes except No. 6 in kerbside recycling.
“Recycling collected in the city of Maribyrnong is processed by VISY, which accepts all rigid plastic containers except expanded polystyrene,” he said.
“Hard plastic items which have the codes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 can be recycled in kerbside recycling bins.
“Code 6 plastic items, which often come in packing boxes like TVs or equipment, cannot be recycled in kerbside bins.”
It comes as Hobsons Bay council announced it would accept three out of seven plastic codes in kerbside recycling bins.
“I do think it has been an honest and eye-opening process for people to now have full transparency on which plastics can truly be recycled and re-processed locally in Melbourne,” Hobsons Bay mayor Colleen Gates said. “I am not currently aware of any local manufacturer who is reprocessing plastic codes 3, 6 or 7.”
On April 1, Hobsons Bay introduced an interim rubbish drop-off service for residents “to support households that may generate higher volumes of household waste due to working from home or self isolating”.
“Hobsons Bay City Council sought advice from the state government, and the Chief Medical Officer has confirmed, that council waste drop-offs (including the Hobsons Bay interim drop-off) are deemed an essential service in the current state of emergency,” a council spokesperson said.
