![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/Binapron.jpeg_51800.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
“I tried everything, so we became a target. One day, before I’d even made it back to the front door, they’d already emptied my bin,” Walls said.<\/p>\n
“Just about everything tried was mechanical, so it broke down over time and cockies kept finding a way in.”<\/p>\n
The breakthrough came when Walls began thinking less about locking the birds out and more about preventing them from getting a grip in the first place.<\/p>\n
“I thought what if we created something the cockies couldn’t grip – a kind of apron attached to the lid?” he said.<\/p>\n
The first versions used rubber, but the birds quickly adapted.<\/p>\n
“That’s when we realised we needed something stronger and more durable, so we moved to recycled plastic,” Walls said.<\/p>\n
“We started with just 10 prototypes four or five years ago \u2013 and the idea worked.”<\/p>\n
What followed was a five-year journey involving prototype testing, design registration and the search for a manufacturer willing to take on a relatively small production run.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “After five years of effort, we found a willing partner in Danbar Plastics in Horsham, who could assist with mould production and manufacturing using recycled plastic,” Walls said.<\/p>\n “They’re made locally from Australian recycled plastic \u2013 doesn’t get much better than that.”<\/p>\n The men’s shed funded the project from the outset and registered the design, persevering through years of development and setbacks.<\/p>\n “It required hundreds of hours of research, numerous setbacks, and persistence from a dedicated group of volunteers,” Walls said.<\/p>\n “My biggest hope is that it helps solve the cockatoo problem in Lorne. It’s been a great Lorne Men’s Shed initiative and a real community effort.”<\/p>\n The effort has now attracted support from Surf Coast Shire, which has ordered 500 bin aprons for installation on red-lid landfill bins where cockatoos are most active in Lorne.<\/p>\n Residents can request a bin apron through the shire if cockatoos continue to target their landfill bin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE long-running battle between Lorne residents and the town’s clever cockatoos may have reached a turning point, with 500 specially designed “bin aprons” set to roll out across the township. For years, the birds have treated wheelie bins as a personal challenge, learning to flip lids, defeat locks and scatter rubbish across the seaside town. […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/AdobeStock_313564577_58499.jpeg\")