Cameras scanning recycling refuse from households have helped almost halve “plastic bag contamination” in some suburbs, Geelong’s council has revealed.
The “kerbside bin inspection program” was targeting the bags as “one of the main contaminants found in recycling bins”, City Hall said.
“The program uses cameras in the recycling truck to identify plastic bags in recycling bins,” the City explained this week.
“The offending bins are then stickered to educate residents that plastic bags cannot be recycled through the kerbside recycling bin.”
Households identified as sources of contamination were also given a yellow reusable bag for collecting and carrying recycling waste to their bin, City Hall said.
“Follow-up bin inspections show there has been a reduction in bagged recycling found in almost all suburbs since introduction of the bin education sticker and the reusable bag.
“Other contaminants identified during the bin inspections include bags of general household rubbish and empty plastic bags. These items cannot be easily removed from the recycling load, which means other recyclables in the truck load such as paper, cardboard and glass could end up going to landfill.”
The program made local headlines when City Hall first revealed then denied it in 2015.
A statement on a council website inspired a media report suggesting City Hall planned bin audits with cameras in recycling trucks.
Later the same day council issued a statement saying the cameras were only a staff member’s idea to reduce recycling contamination.
“Unfortunately a story about it was incorrectly placed on our website.”
The City then chided the media for allegedly failing to confirm the facts before publishing the story.
However, the City revealed the results of the program on its website this week without issuing a general press release.
