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Marauding cockatoos thwarted by bin lid invented by men's shed (www.abc.net.au)
submitted 1 week ago by Tau@aussie.zone to c/australia@aussie.zone
7 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Residents of Lorne, on Victoria's scenic Great Ocean Road, have been locked in a battle of wits for years now.

They've been fighting skirmishes with a large flock of increasingly intelligent sulphur-crested cockatoos that love lifting the lids of the town's wheelie bins and spreading rubbish on the ground.

"What began as a simple idea became a complex and demanding project," Mr Walls, a retired caravan park broker, explains.

Made from recycled plastic at Horsham in Victoria's Wimmera region, the frames are screwed or pop-riveted to the wheelie bin lid to thwart entry.

"The theory is you can't lift what you're standing on … and in the five years we've had them out testing them there hasn't been a failure that I'm aware of," Mr Walls says.

The design has been so successful that Surf Coast Shire has spent $50,000 to buy and install 500 of the aprons on Lorne residents' bins for free.

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[-] Tau@aussie.zone 3 points 1 week ago

The brick probably would be enough to stop it being opened (unless a particularly inquisitive cockatoo pushed it off) but the problem is that you have to remove the brick just before the garbage truck comes - if you don't then either the lifting mechanism flings the brick over the truck or you lose your brick into it.

[-] arbilp3@aussie.zone 1 points 1 week ago

Just take the brick off on bin day. The cockies wouldn't have enough time to create a mess unless the trucks come around in the afternoon. Why am I arguing? 😆 They've found a better solution.

this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2026
22 points (100.0% liked)

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