Cooma residents are urged to ensure they are using their green bins properly after the discovery of contaminated goods at Cooma Landfill last week.
A canvas bag filled with dirty needles and other intravenous items was discovered in a row of the Cooma Landfill compost farm. Due to obvious safety concerns, all 85 cubic metres of future compost had to be removed and disappointingly, placed in the landfill. Dozens of hours of work, thousands of litres of water, hundreds of kilos of fertiliser and the recycling efforts of residents were all wasted as a result of one person's actions.
"Incidents like last week's discovery are costing ratepayers significant amounts of money in wasted time and resources," said Mayor Peter Beer, Snowy Monaro Regional Council.
"The vast majority of Cooma residents do the right thing with their green bins. However, the minority that throw rubbish, recycling and even this dangerous biohazardous waste into their green bins jeopardises the community's hard work."
Green bins - known formally as Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins - are only for waste that comes from a plant or animal in a natural state.
The following types of waste are OK in a green bin:
• Food scraps (including cooked meat and bones)
• Garden waste (including untreated wood no larger than kindling)
• Paper towel, serviettes and tissues
• And even greasy pizza boxes
In the same week as the needles and IV items were found, workers sorting green bin collections also removed a microwave, a blender, an esky, a plastic bag full of dirty nappies, a door, tangled old wire, a cut-up couch and countless shopping bags, recyclables and logs.
Council's waste operations team members must remove these contaminants by hand, putting them at great risk when dangerous items are mixed in.
