A rotting sheep’s carcass, dog faeces and dirty nappies do not belong in household recycling.
That’s the message from the team at the recycling sorting centre, after the discovery of these items in recycling bins, collected from Cambridge over the last week.
Group manager service delivery Dawn Inglis said Cambridge residents need to clean up their act, with four separate recycling routes contaminated due to unacceptable dumping of hazardous and non-recyclable items.
“Everyone knows better, this isn’t a matter of people mistaking what can be recycled. It’s gross negligence and a complete disregard for the people who collect and sort the recycling.
“The dog poo was dumped in the yellow bins and since spread through otherwise perfectly fine recycling that now must go to landfill. And then the team came across a putrid-smelling black plastic bag that contained a well-rotted sheep’s carcass.”
“It’s a shame that these thoughtless acts are ruining it for the vast majority who are doing a great job at recycling. It really was a stomach-turning start to the week,” she said.
The used nappies weren’t found until they got through the baling process, with the resulting contaminant spreading to other items that can now no longer be recycled.
“This is a massive health and safety risk for workers and has caused unsafe work conditions and damaged equipment,” Inglis said. “Human waste is not safe for the crew to deal with.”
Broken window glass and aerosol cans were also found in the yellow recycling bins on these routes. Aerosol cans cannot be collected in kerbside collections and only glass from food and drink containers can be recycled in the blue bins.
This latest contamination find comes after live ammunition was found last month in recycling bins from Cambridge, including a helium tank and shotgun cartridge.
Contaminated recycling is costing Waipā ratepayers an average of $34,500 each month in disposal fees.
