{"id":648025,"date":"2026-05-04T01:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T01:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/648025\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T01:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T01:27:18","slug":"aussie-councils-recycling-fail-as-dangerous-discovery-on-football-oval-leaves-players-bloodied","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/648025\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie council’s recycling fail as dangerous discovery on football oval leaves players bloodied"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019s east, Perth Now reported.<\/a><\/p>\n

The City of Kalamunda<\/a> confirmed the material originated from its FOGO (food organics and garden organics) recycling program.<\/p>\n

After multiple injuries during Thursday night\u2019s training, the council said warning signs would be installed around the ground.<\/p>\n

Club representative Sam Oakes said the situation forced the cancellation of the club\u2019s Sponsors and Life Members Past Players Day on Sunday, a key fundraising event scheduled for Sunday.<\/p>\n

Kalamunda mayor Margaret Thomas told 7News she only became aware of the issue on Sunday and expressed concern about what had occurred.<\/p>\n

The council plans to sweep the oval today.<\/p>\n

Oakes told Perth Now the contamination was widespread across the surface and difficult to detect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just a football oval, it\u2019s a community oval, a school oval, and it\u2019s not fenced off so people can go down, walk the dog and get it in their feet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Players have been advised to monitor any cuts and seek medical attention if signs of infection appear.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s OK,\u201d Oakes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou pay your rates for councils to maintain these ovals, and I\u2019m bewildered that it happened in the first place, that there\u2019s no quality control before sending the compost and then ticking off on it being used.<\/p>\n

Oakes said if the council can\u2019t remove the dangerous fragments it could derail the whole club.<\/p>\n

\u201dWe were devastated, it\u2019s the biggest fundraising day of the year, plus there\u2019s the outlay for food, etc., and we\u2019re not getting the money back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Do you have a FOGO story? Contact reporter joe.attanasio@yahooinc.com.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Club representative Sam Oakes said the situation forced the cancellation of the club\u2019s Sponsors and Life Members Past Players Day, a key fundraising event scheduled for Sunday.<\/p>\n

(PerthNow)How can sharp objects end up in compost?<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Even with screening, contaminants can slip through or break into smaller fragments that remain in the final mix.<\/p>\n

This highlights the importance of disposing of waste correctly to prevent dangerous contamination.<\/p>\n

Last year, a green-thumbed dad told Yahoo News Australia he had just built a garden for his partner\u2019s birthday when he discovered \u201ca lot\u201d of plastic and glass in premium soil he\u2019d bought<\/a> for his backyard veggie patch.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/p>\n

After contacting the supplier, he said he was told the soil was made from recycled material and that it was \u201call certified and it’s safe\u201d.<\/p>\n

He continued spreading it, but as it dried, he began noticing \u201cmore and more\u201d pieces of plastic.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an isolated case.<\/p>\n

Victorian gardener Ryan, who runs the Culinary Garden, said a similar experience prompted him to start his educational YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne 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,\u201d he had earlier told Yahoo.<\/p>\n

You can also follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n