Duty of care surrounding the garbage system
There is no question that garbage odours in an apartment building are unpleasant for both tenants and staff. They also create a negative perception of cleanliness and hygiene. But that's not the only reason why it is important to have a functioning germ and odour control system in your building. The Owners Corporation (Strata Committee/Body Corporate) have a duty of care to minimise the spread of airborne bacteria within common areas, such as the garbage chute/room.
The below is extracted from 'Body Corporate Liability' – May 2009:
"A body corporate is invested with a duty of care to lot owners, tenants and guests. That duty requires the Body Corporate to take steps reasonably required to minimise a foreseeable risk of injury caused by the common property.
Common property includes garbage chutes and waste disposal areas of the building.
Garbage chutes and waste disposal areas are literally a dumping ground for decomposing matter and therefore a haven for harmful bacteria and germs, some of which are or may become airborne.
It is not fanciful and therefore foreseeable that the same garbage chute used to carry the waste can also transport the airborne bacteria back to lot owners, tenants and guests causing illness, injury or disease.
A body corporate is required to respond reasonably to that risk. A reasonable response is to ensure that the building has an adequate waste management system including; regular waste removal, cleaning, and use of appropriate technology to reduce airborne germs.
Failure to provide an adequate system will make the Body Corporate legally liable for the illness, injury and disease and the compensation which follows to the persons affected."
Talk to us about your building
Call 1300-ODOURS (1300 636 877), or send us photos of your bin room and chute, and we'll recommend the right system.
More guides
- What is ozone and how does it work?How ozone (O3) is made, and how ozone is used in commercial odour control equipment such as the Garbage Doctor.
- Types of ozone generatorsCorona discharge and ultraviolet ozone generators compared, and which is best for garbage odour control.
- Corrosion from ozone generators in garbage chutesHow the wrong kind of ozone generator can corrode a garbage system, particularly a steel chute base.
- Si-Zone® ultraviolet ozone generatorsThe UV ozone generator inside every Garbage Doctor, with a long history of use against garbage odours.
- Electrical testing requirements for odour control equipmentWhy your supplier should be testing and tagging your odour control or scenting system, as local law requires.
- How germicidal UV-C is used in garbage systemsHow germicidal UV-C differs from ozone, and where UV-C is used in garbage systems.
- What is photocatalytic oxidation?How photocatalytic oxidation breaks down garbage odours inside an air purifier.
- Using scented vapour for garbage odour controlHow scenting adds a pleasant fragrance once the odour is neutralised, in a chute, bin room or public space.
- Garbage chute cleaning: why a clean chute can still smellWhy a freshly cleaned chute can still smell, and how chute cleaning and odour control work together.
- Why air fresheners alone don't fix bin room odourWhy sprays mask bin room odour for a while, why the odour comes back, and what neutralises the odour.
- Do extraction fans stop bin room odour?Why an extraction fan moves bin room odour around rather than removing the odour, and what works instead.
- Air conditioning in bin rooms: why it spreads odourWhy air blowing over the bins spreads more odour, how to set the air conditioning, and what neutralises the odour.