Building manager lifts the lid on missing bins
The manager of an apartment complex has lifted the lid on disappearing rubbish bins after realising why they kept going missing.
Unit Strata Manager John Debassis claims over the last four to five years 20 to 25 bins have vanished.
After taking a look at CCTV footage, he discovered they were being taken by unlikely culprits, some of those who were collecting the rubbish.
John Debassis took a look at CCTV footage. A Current Affair
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"The guy has just picked it ... and chucked it in the back of the truck," Debassis said.
Debassis said he called his local Canterbury-Bankstown council in Western Sydney.
But after becoming frustrated with the lack of help from bureaucrats, Debassis called A Current Affair.
Unit Strata Manager John Debassis claims over the last four to five years 20 to 25 bins have vanished. A Current Affair
John Debassis said he called his local Canterbury-Bankstown council in Western Sydney. A Current Affair
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"It needs to stop. There's a lot of money going because they are worth $150 to $160 every time," Debassis said.
A Current Affair visited the area where the rubbish is picked up from to try and get some answers for the building manager.
A rubbish collector told A Current Affair one of the bins that were previously taken by other "garbos" might have been collected with the rubbish because they were "probably broken" from "wear and tear".
A Current Affair visited the area where the rubbish is picked up from to try and get some answers for the building manager. A Current Affair
After taking a look at CCTV footage, John Debassis discovered the bins were being taken. A Current Affair
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"The axel might have broken and the bins cracked underneath," the rubbish collector said, while looking at the CCTV footage.
"See how it's cracked?" another rubbish collector pointed out.
"Then all the bin juices will start leaking when it hits the ground again."
They said the building manager's claims that more than 20 bins had gone missing were "exaggerated".
But Debassis doesn't agree with the claims.
He didn't think the condition of the bins was the reason they were taken.
"It was absolutely 100 per cent in good condition. He just dropped it, the machine and he picked it out in the back of the truck," Debassis said.
Unit Strata Manager John Debassis. A Current Affair
Rates have increased by over 12 per cent in the area and Debassis is calling for the council "to do their bloody job".
"Ratepayers, councils are going bankrupt. Councils haven't got money, they are asking people to pay (a) 20 to 30 per cent increase every year," Debassis said.
"Stop spending people's money, that's all there is to it. It's ratepayers money."
"Take care of our bloody bins for Christ's sake because they cost money ... take care of them, do the right thing."
A spokesperson for the City of Canterbury-Bankstown told A Current Affair in a statement that lost bins are not uncommon.
"When residents report a damaged or missing bin they are replaced with a new bin," the spokesperson said.
Statement by a City of Canterbury-Bankstown spokesperson:
A Council spokesperson said lost, damaged and stolen bins are not uncommon to most Councils across the country.
"When residents report a damaged or missing bin they are replaced with a new bin," the spokesperson said.
"You need to put things into perspective and consider the fact that Council garbos pick up more than 12 million bins a year."
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