SUTHERLAND Shire Council's free e-waste collection service on March 22 was so popular that some residents, who had queued for hours, had to be turned away when the five containers provided were filled.
By 11am, the queue of cars waiting to enter the Bellingara Road recycling site stretched around the corner into the Boulevarde.
But at least the council has learnt a lesson from the shemozzle and will, in future, offer the service for two days twice a year.
The next one, which will be held October 11 and 12, will operate in the same manner as the popular chemical waste collection.
More than 1200 residents were, however, successful in dropping off their electrical waste, which weighed in at more than 60 tonnes.
A council spokeswoman said the community response was" unprecedented".
"We hosted a similar event last year which only attracted about 200 cars with e-waste material filling three-quarters of a shipping container. This year's event was based on those figures. On the collection day, an extra three containers were brought in to cope with the demand as well as 10 additional staff.
"People who missed out can take items such as computers, printers and peripherals and analogue televisions to the SITA waste management centre at Lucas Heights where they can be disposed of free."
