A ‘disgusting’ scene witnessed at a beachside park this week has highlighted a frustrating problem as ‘more and more’ Aussies report the ‘disrespectful’ act to council.
Residents and visitors to Bronte Beach in Sydney’s east were shocked to see the state of the beach barbecues, allegedly left behind by a group of teens.
Video footage shared by a local woman shows food scraps and packaging scattered across the hot plate and the surrounding area, despite bins nearby.
A thick layer of grease and leftover food covered the BBQ, seemingly with no attempt to clean it at all.
The woman shared the video in the local community group, shaming the ‘disrespectful’ behaviour and raising the question of public barbecue etiquette, which has long been debated.
The public barbecues were left in a shocking state with food and rubbish scattered everywhere.
(Facebook/Elena Torriani)
She said a group of teenagers was responsible for the mess, having used the public barbeques and taking off without cleaning them up.
It’s typically considered common courtesy to clean the grills after using them, ready for the next person.
Increase in reports of dirty or damaged public barbecues
While this is mostly understood by Aussies using public amenities, the issue continues to pop up across the country.
Last year, Snap Send Solve received 2,287 reports about issues with public barbecues across the country.
While some involved broken or damaged amenities, a “big proportion” of complaints were about barbecues being left dirty, Danny Gorog, Founder & CEO, Snap Send Solve told Yahoo News Australia.
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And, frustratingly, reports are on the rise,
“We are on target for 2700 reports in 2026, a three-year increase of 131 per cent,” he said.
Reports of dirty or damaged barbeques across Australia in 2025
Victoria has the most offenders, at least according to reported incidents. In 2025, there were 899 incidents reported.
Queensland followed closely with 735 reports of dirty or damaged public barbeques. While in NSW, there were 270 reports.
Reports in other states:
Should Aussies report damaged or dirty barbecues?
Aussies are being encouraged to continue reporting incidents across their communities.
“We’d encourage everyone to do the right thing and clean public barbecues when they’re finished, or jump on the Snap Send Solve app and let councils and other providers know when there’s a problem,” Danny said.
“While we’re seeing more and more members of the community use Snap Send Solve to report dirty or damaged public BBQs, the good news is our data shows that nine times out of ten these issues are being resolved, so it’s worth the effort.”
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