BREAKING: Shire Launches Christmas Crackdown on Prawn-Head Dumpers — Midnight Bin Offenders Warned “We’re Watching”.

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

26 December 2026

Local authorities have confirmed a festive-season crackdown on one of the Shire’s most enduring Christmas offences: the Prawn-Head Dumper - residents who happily consume fresh prawns, then categorically refuse to let the remains decay in their own wheelie bins.

The annual behaviour spike typically runs from December 22 to early January, coinciding with peak temperatures and a sudden rise in residents roaming the streets after dark clutching supermarket bags “for no reason.” Surveillance reports describe the tell-tale signs: stiff posture, exaggerated casualness, and the distinct walk of someone carrying seafood shame.

Public bins near reserves, beaches and boat ramps are once again under strain, with locals reporting suspicious late-night activity involving careful lid placement, rapid dumping, and immediate retreat without acknowledgment of witnesses.

One Boxing Day incident has already been confirmed, with Graham from Caringbah finally disposing of prawn heads frozen last Christmas after rediscovering them while “looking for ice.” Neighbours report the bin lid was closed immediately and without eye contact.

Experts say the behaviour stems from a uniquely Australian logic loop: prawns are a Christmas essential, but the smell is “a problem for future me.” Unfortunately, future me has arrived.

Residents remain divided. Some argue it’s unreasonable to expect anyone to store seafood remnants in 30-degree heat. Others insist that outsourcing your crustacean consequences to the neighbourhood is a breach of the social contract.

Authorities are urging residents to take responsibility for their prawns this year, warning that while goodwill may be seasonal, memory is not.

Because nothing says Christmas spirit like community, generosity - and the distant sound of someone jogging away from a bin at midnight.