Residents of a north-west Tasmanian town are pushing to have Australia's first heritage-listed rubbish bins amid concerns about the future of what they say is an "iconic" town feature.
Residents of the coastal town of Penguin have applied to the Tasmanian Heritage Council to have 12 penguin-themed rubbish bins, as well as the town's Big Penguin sculpture, included in the Tasmanian Heritage Register.
Penguin-themed bins first appeared in the town in 1980, five years after the cement Big Penguin was erected to celebrate the centenary of the town's proclamation.
Penguin resident Ross Hartley, who wrote the heritage application, said the existing bins were installed in 1996 and designed by local artist Jenny-Lee Hutton.
"She came up with four models that were displayed at community meetings in Penguin and the community chose the one they wanted," he said.
"Superimposing her folk art onto the council-donated pipes was a challenge. It involved enveloping the pipes with her clay mould and then covering these with more than 30 layers of latex to yield perfect 3D impressions.
"From these, she made the fibreglass shells, which were filled with cement and attached to the pipes."
Mr Hartley said it seemed "appropriate" to have the town's 3-metre-tall Big Penguin sculpture heritage-listed, given other big landmarks in Australia have been added to heritage lists.
"Because there is a precedent across Australia, getting the Big Penguin listed is a more likely thing to happen," he said.
"But nowhere in Australia are trash bins heritage-listed. I think it's a bit of a long bow to get the 12 bins listed, but they're worthy of it."
The town is home to just over 4,000 people and gained its name from its once-thriving little penguin population.
Community fight to save bins
Some of the town's residents have raised concerns about the future of the bins after the Central Coast Council announced it would be rolling out new bin infrastructure.
President of the Penguin Makeover Community Libby Burton described them as "unique".
"They're not just bins, they are iconic to our town. They've been a part of this town for a long time," she said.
Her group, made up of volunteers, aims to "beautify" the town, including giving the bins a fresh coat of paint.
"We have been busy painting the bins, one of our members has been putting on new tops so that they are sturdy," she said.
"We are trying to protect this history for future generations. They are such an important part of our main street and we would not be happy for them to go elsewhere."
Central Coast Mayor Cheryl Fuller said, over the coming months, the council would be discussing with the community the repurposing of the penguin bins "which may or may not be moved from their original position".
"There will be larger and more contemporary waste bins installed in the CBD, which is a separate discussion from the repurposing of the current penguin bins," she said.
"Those unique features of Penguin are highly valued by everyone. It would certainly be interesting to see what Heritage Tasmania thought of any such listing."
The Tasmanian Heritage Council is expected to make its decision this month.
