Keeping cockatoos out of bins

If your bins are fitted with a locking mechanism and cockatoos are still opening your bins, contact us immediately.

If the locking mechanism is stopping your bin from fully opening when it is emptied, contact us immediately.
If possible, describe the issue and include photos to help us determine the problem with your lock.

A waste team member will visit your property to inspect the bin. If you’re not at home when we visit, you will need to provide written permission for us to enter your property to adjust or replace the locking mechanism.

If your FOGO, recycling or landfill bins have not been fitted with a locking mechanism, contact us now so we can make arrangements to visit your property.

If you are not at home when we visit, we can still fit the locks if you give us permission in writing to enter your property to access your bins.

Complete the online request for a bin lock fitting, send an email to info@surfcoast.vic.gov.au or call us on 5261 0600.

Are your bins lock-ready?

Bin locks or bin aprons can only be fitted to bins in good repair. If your FOGO, recycling or landfill bin has damaged handles or lids, or your landfill bin doesn't have a bright red lid, contact Council online or by phone on 5261 0600.

UPDATE: Bin Apron on trial on Lorne landfill bins

A black plastic apron that fits over the existing bin lid and extends slightly down the bin body. The apron includes a wide ledge where cockatoos usually stand to lift the bin lid. Because the apron is secured to the lid, cockatoos end up trying to lift the lid while standing on it.

BinM8

A stainless steel mechanism featuring two large springs that apply constant pressure to keep the bin lid closed. The lid opens completely when the bin is emptied into the truck, ensuring no light-weight rubbish is trapped inside the bin. Householders only need to flip the lid closed after the BinM8 has been emptied.

Litter Lock

A plastic moulded clip with a long arm that extends down the side of the bin. A hinge attached to the bin body holds the arm in place. The clip securing the lid automatically releases when the arm of the collection truck picks up the bin.

The BinM8 and Litter Lock were selected after evaluating feedback from residents who had a mechanism fitted to their bin, as well as observations from collection truck drivers, and Council staff.

Download the evaluation report summary(PDF, 2MB)

1. Do not overfill bins

   Overfull and open bins are easy targets for cockatoos looking for their next meal.

   Bags of waste sitting next to landfill bins will not be picked up by the collection truck. If it doesn’t fit in the bin, wait until the next collection, or take it to the transfer station.

   Find your closest transfer station

2. Close the lid, and engage the bin lock

   Some bins are already fitted with BinM8s and Litter Locks. Ensure the lid is fully closed and the Litter Lock is engaged when you put your bins bin on the kerbside for collection.

3. Put ALL food waste in the FOGO bin

   Audits of kerbside bins in Lorne show 24% of landfill bin contents is food waste. All food waste - even seafood leftovers, raw & cooked meat, citrus & dairy products - should go in your FOGO bin, which is collected every week in Lorne township.

4. Put bins out on the right day

   Bins left on the kerbside for too long attract hungry cockatoos. Place your bins out no more than 24 hours before collection day, and take them back inside within 48 hours after they are emptied.

   Penalties may apply under Council’s Local Law for bins on the kerbside outside these timeframes.

5. Do not feed cockatoos

   Hand feeding cockatoos or leaving out wild birdseed mix can spread disease from bird to bird, or birds to humans. Cockatoos are also becoming aggressive and pestering people for food.

6. Report spilt litter

   Call Council on 5261 0600 or at info@surfcoast.vic.gov.au

    

Cockatoo’s natural diet is berries, seeds, nuts and roots and there is plenty available in the bushland surrounding Lorne. Feeding wild bird seed mix to cockatoos, King Parrots and other wildlife can make them dependent on humans for their survival, and may cause nutrient deficiencies.

Human food such as bread, chips and meat (and other leftovers and scraps they find in kerbside bins) can also make them sick, and may even kill them.

Keep wildlife wild!

• Hand-fed cockatoos are bored cockatoos. When cockatoos don’t need to forage for their natural foods, they spend their “leisure time” chewing on buildings.
• Neighbouring homes could be suffering cockatoo damage as a direct result of one homeowner’s handfeeding of wildlife.
• Feeding allows for the easy spread of disease from bird to bird (Psittacine Beak & Feather Disease), and from birds to humans.
• Feeding encourages pests such as mice, rats and introduced bird species, as well as feral cats and foxes.
• Native birds need to teach their young how to forage for a wide variety of natural foods.

Cockatoos are a protected native species under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is an offence to injure or kill them.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) is the responsible authority for all wildlife including cockatoos. To discuss cockatoo management, contact DEECA on 136 186.

Did you know?

• Wild Sulphur-crested cockatoos can live up to 50 years of age
• Their beak continually grows, so they need to chew items, including artificial structures, to maintain their beaks at the correct length and condition.
• Whenever cockatoos land, either feeding or beak maintenance occurs.
• Cockatoos are sociable and flock and roost together. Flocks form through a process called “local enhancement”, where birds in the air see birds feeding below (sometimes in our kerbside bins) and join them.
• Cockatoos use regular flight paths and return to good feeding areas repeatedly. They can be attracted to an area when someone feeds them.

Please sort your food waste correctly!

Cockatoos are foraging in the landfill bin to find your leftover food, scraps and peelings.

As they search for food, they pull out other rubbish and drop it onto the street.

Put all food waste FOGO bin (lime-green lid), which is emptied weekly in Lorne township.

Find out more about your FOGO bin