Coles’s seemingly harmless online post has caused a stir among shoppers, many of which have criticized the supermarket for causing needless confusion. Shoppers have accused Coles of being “wildly wrong” in its advice concerning properly recycling pizza boxes with scraps and grease on them. The retailer uploaded a poll titled “know before you throw” to its Facebook stories this week, in what it hoped would test out customers’ recycling knowledge. “Can you put your takeaway pizza box in the recycling bin?” it asked, giving viewers a chance to answer by either tapping “yes” or “no”.
When an “annoyed” shopper screenshotted the poll answers on Thursday, 61 percent of respondents answered “yes”, and 39 percent answered “no”. Coles revealed what it claimed to be the correct answer in the following story, telling customers they should have answered “no”. “Anything with food scraps or grease needs to be put in a regular rubbish bin,” the post read. Dozens pointed out afterward, however, that for people in many parts of the country, that sas not true. One woman said the post “really annoyed” her and was “so unhelpful and confusing for people”.
Pizza boxes are to be recycled in green FOGO bin
She was referring to the fact that pizza boxes with food scraps and grease should be recycled in the green-lidded FOGO bin for a significant portion of the population. Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins, unlike regular green bins, take in all organic waste, including meat and dairy, animal waste, paper, cardboard, and other kitchen scraps. Typical green bins, however, should only accept garden waste like grass clippings and wood trimmings. Shoppers accused the supermarket of being “just wildly wrong” after sharing the post with a Facebook recycling group.
“We have green bins, and pizza boxes go in them. It’s printed in the bin. Coles is just wildly wrong,” one wrote in a comment. “So frustrating. It can differ from council to council, let alone state to state. I take the messy bit out of the bottom of the pizza box and recycle the rest,” another said. “This is ridiculous although not surprising,” a third wrote. Coles did not respond to news.com.au when contacted on the matter.
FOGO bins are popular across the country
According to MRA Consulting Group, councils in Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne have either already integrated a FOGO system or have committed to do so by 2025. Councils across most regional NSW have also either rolled out FOGO ar are planning to, while Penrith and Randwick councils have fully integrated it. The Ipswich Council is the only Queensland council to provide the FOGO service, with others expected to follow suit in the coming months and years. In Tasmania, at least one council area will roll out FOGO in the next few years.
