And Western Advocate columnist Lachlan Sullivan says if Bathurst Regional Council won’t take back his green waste bin, he will simply take it to the council depot and “throw it over the fence”.

Mr Sullivan has been the leading voice in a small but vocal campaign against the introduction of the new green waste collection, though he says he has no problem with the service itself.

Rather, he is angry that a “one size fits all” collection timetable has been foisted on the community without, he says, any meaningful consultation with ratepayers.

Mr Sullivan says council has opted for the lazy option of rolling out the same waste service to every household rather than going for a more flexible user-pays service that’s in operation in other council areas across the state.

“If they reckon this new service will see 40 per cent of our waste being diverted from landfill, then I don’t have a problem with that,” Mr Sullivan said.

“But I really think they could have gone the extra mile to make a user pays service so if you want a smaller bin you can get it or, if you’re on a big block and want two green bins, you could get that as well.”

Mr Sullivan (pictured) said he had done some research on other recycling services in place across the state and had been particularly impressed with the Port Macquarie Hastings Council system.

Their website shows that residents can choose a 140L or 240L general waste bin, and also fortnightly or weekly collection. Different rates are applied depending on the service chosen by the resident.

“I’ve said from day one that this is a great idea if you need it but I don’t,” he said.

“I don’t need a 240L green waste bin and I don’t want it.”

Council waste and water manager Russell Deans yesterday said residents could ask in writing for council to take back their new bin.

“The request must come from the property owners and the request will need to be formalised in writing so a copy of the request can be placed on the property file,” Mr Deans said. “The charge for the food and garden waste service will remain as part of the overall domestic waste management service charges levied on the property.”

Mr Deans said the process to be used by waste processing contractor Aus-tralian Native Landscapes at Blayney meant it was not possible for Bathurst residents to use compostable plastic bags in their kitchen tidy, as other councils do.

“With staff manually picking out any items of contamination, any plastic bags found will be treated as contaminated waste and sent unopened to landfill due to the work health and safety considerations,” he said.

Mr Deans said particularly wet or smelly food scraps could be wrapped in newspaper or other paper products before being thrown in the green waste bin.