Players from a grassroots football club were left bloodied and bruised after compost spread across their oval was found to contain a shocking mix of sharp objects.
The High Wycombe Football Club sounded the alarm late last week after shards of glass, plastic fragments, nails, rocks and sticks were found strewn across their oval in Perth’s east, Perth Now reported.
The City of Kalamunda confirmed the material originated from its FOGO (food organics and garden organics) recycling program.
After multiple injuries during Thursday night’s training, the council said warning signs would be installed around the ground.
Club representative Sam Oakes said the situation forced the cancellation of the club’s Sponsors and Life Members Past Players Day on Sunday, a key fundraising event scheduled for Sunday.
Kalamunda mayor Margaret Thomas told 7News she only became aware of the issue on Sunday and expressed concern about what had occurred.
The council plans to sweep the oval today.
Oakes told Perth Now the contamination was widespread across the surface and difficult to detect.
“It’s not just a football oval, it’s a community oval, a school oval, and it’s not fenced off so people can go down, walk the dog and get it in their feet,” he said.
Players have been advised to monitor any cuts and seek medical attention if signs of infection appear.
“It’s a physical sport, and there are concerns about players getting it in their eyes or swallowing it, but the shire has ticked off on it and said it’s OK,” Oakes said.
“You pay your rates for councils to maintain these ovals, and I’m bewildered that it happened in the first place, that there’s no quality control before sending the compost and then ticking off on it being used.
Oakes said if the council can’t remove the dangerous fragments it could derail the whole club.
”We were devastated, it’s the biggest fundraising day of the year, plus there’s the outlay for food, etc., and we’re not getting the money back,” he said.
Do you have a FOGO story? Contact reporter joe.attanasio@yahooinc.com.com
Club representative Sam Oakes said the situation forced the cancellation of the club’s Sponsors and Life Members Past Players Day, a key fundraising event scheduled for Sunday.
(PerthNow)How can sharp objects end up in compost?
Glass and sharps can end up in FOGO compost when non-organic waste is incorrectly placed in green bins and processed along with organic material.
Even with screening, contaminants can slip through or break into smaller fragments that remain in the final mix.
This highlights the importance of disposing of waste correctly to prevent dangerous contamination.
Last year, a green-thumbed dad told Yahoo News Australia he had just built a garden for his partner’s birthday when he discovered “a lot” of plastic and glass in premium soil he’d bought for his backyard veggie patch.
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After contacting the supplier, he said he was told the soil was made from recycled material and that it was “all certified and it’s safe”.
He continued spreading it, but as it dried, he began noticing “more and more” pieces of plastic.
It’s not an isolated case.
Victorian gardener Ryan, who runs the Culinary Garden, said a similar experience prompted him to start his educational YouTube channel.
“One of the big turning points that led me to create my channel was when I got a big load of veggie soil mix delivered, and it was full of shredded plastic pieces,” he had earlier told Yahoo.
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