My council is going to change to a fortnighly general waste collection!! While green bin is changed to every week. My 80 litre red bin is full every week. How do people cope with this madness!?
Council Changing General Waste Collection to Fortnightly!!
mrvaluepack on 21/03/2023 - 06:43
Comments
might get a fine though :(
Fine for leaving your bins out?
Many councils do this now… if you dont take them in after empty day after x days…
@pharkurnell: What usually happens which I feel is worse than a fine, is random people walking their dogs put their stanky poop bags in there or their random rubbish as they walk past it. Mostly encourages me to drag the bin in as soon as practical.
@gilbarc: Im sure you find it equally hilarious to come home and find your bin full again because some idiot had filled it with bags AFTER its been collected? This literally just happened to me.
@bmerigan: It would be fine except none of the people have ever come back to wash or clean the bin, especially when they throw in dirty used nappies that aren't bagged. But I'm sure you'd be happy to do that for free. Asking people to carry their rubbish and use their own bins. The audacity!
@Aneurism: If its bin night, i'll put a doggy bag into someones bin.
I would never put a bag in a bin that was just emptied
@Jules_d1: Exactly, if it is properly collected and secured in a plastic bag just prior to collection then not so much of a problem however I have had inconsiderate people dump (no pun intended) in the bin just after it has been collected so it sits there for an entire week and reeks each time I have to open the lid. I caught it on CCTV however have chosen to not make a fuss unless it is a recurring activity. The stench will be much worse when we move to fortnightly collections.
@Aneurism: This is why i have moved my bins as far away from the foot path as possible and only put it out late at night before pickup, same for my folks. Because we would get people putting all their rubbish into our bins and overflowing them. OR people just chucking in nappies or doggy bags (not closed properly). A few weeks ago, I opened the bin up to see dog / human crap smeared ALL over the inside of the bin, not small amounts but large amounts all down the sides (some in clumps) and heaps more on the bottom. Someone had just chucked a hell of a lot of crap without bagging them properly into the bins. When i first opened it, almost threw up from the smell. And then took like 20 minutes to try to wash it all out as it had gotten dried and stuck on..
Plus the other issue is people chuck the wrong stuff into the wrong bins if you have multiple of them out there and you can get into trouble for that. You can also get into trouble if the bins are overflowing or they just wont take it and then you are stuck with garbage that isnt even yours.
lol lol lol
I'm old enough to remember when we had metal bins about half size of wheelie bins, we were a family of 6. Maybe time to reduce waste or recycle?
back in those days did many people have an incinerator in the backyard?
@jinkerjinx: Not in my neighbourhood if I recall. Butchers not in supermarkets those days . Probably less packaging overall and perhaps people had to be more careful with consumerism?
It wouldn't be emptied on the off weeks though…so, pointless
Just leave your Bin out Weekly.
Why? The truck won't be coming by.
Then the neighbours will fill it up.
😀 so true.
Get another bin or crush your stuff down harder
And bleed more money to the council? Yeah nah, nice try councilor.
Start by having a separate bin bag for all the plastic that would/could have gone to redcycle - it will compress nicely as you fill it.
take some rubbish with you to the park or to work
Which council?
bloody labor, greens and independents!
Do you have a map of council electorates with fortnightly general waste collection against political powers of the local councils?
At a quick look at state election level, there's a stretch of East Melbourne that voted liberal in the last election.
With the number of Vic councils moving this way (due to the ever increasing costs of waste collection/disposal), I'd be impressed if liberal had become that useless as to lose every local council electorate in that area as well.
Last i check it was more independents and labor than liberal
@mrvaluepack: So more, not all?
So the liberal based councils are just doing it because of peer pressure based on your thoughts?
There’s nowhere near enough money in rorting local councils for blue blood liberals
Not sure why you are voted down.
Glen Waverley is owned by Labor/Greens in their State and LGA. Box Hill is owned by Labor in their State and LGA as well. Bayswater/Ringwood are as well so I would say you were saying the facts. Maybe you are not aware Ozb's political leaning but now you know.
Back to the topic, the issue of changing bin collection from weekly to fortnightly is due to the State Govt directive to introduce FOGO (Food Organics) and you should get a new bin for this specific food organics waste but at the expense of moving the normal bin from weekly to fortnightly. I strongly don't agree with it but unfortunately it is a state directive but the councils (at least in my council where they just unilaterally imposed this without consultation) were poor in communicating this. The fact most councils are either Green/Labor owned didn't help too.
Ozb pro labour. LOL
@mitt: Definitely, here is a good example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2022_A… (insignificant difference)
vs
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/762706 (although this thread is about state election) (more than double difference)Perhaps Labor votes just like to be vocal a lot.
Perhaps Labor votes just like to be vocal a lot.
And the person who answered which council they’re in by adding “bloody labor” wasn’t being vocal?
Oh dear…
Yes how dare they want to reduce landfill…? Are you saying the libs are pro rubbish dumps?
reeeeeeeeeeeeee
Its Knox city council. Not sure why it has to be kept as a terrible secret by OP
Stop creating so much landfill and it won’t be an issue…
lol….have you been shopping for ANYTHING at all lately???
overpackaged products are the normI bought a new office chair from officeworks, the amount of foam packaging and plastic bags is insane.
Yeah this makes sense, I hate polystyrene. But the OP needs to create less waste. No one’s buying office chairs weekly, and on the off occasion you have lots, make a trip to the waste facility. It will make you think more about creating too much waste. We have it too easy, the magic bin trucks take all our problems away.
@JackFrost: But you miss the point… the design is, that everyone SHOULD be buying office chairs weekly*.
'*' like printers, furniture, plastic kennels, kids toys, pools, baby seats…
@resisting the urge: Buy better ones and used ones where you can. Or even better, go without. Anyone who buys a plastic kennel has nothing but their own stupidity to blame.
Melt the foam down with acetone.
A mountain of it'll turn to something resembling molten marshmallows, and be the size of a full roll of toilet paper. then leave it in the sun for the acetone to evaporate out of it. Then toss the miniscule amount of styrene in the bin.
the packaging is virtually all recyclable - has no place in your red bin!
except they dont allow foam packs in your recycling
well ours dont
@Fizzydrink: Need to take it to a waste transfer station such as the one from Monash, if I’m VIC south east . My local one doesn’t either so I periodically need to go a bit further away to hand over to Monash for free.
@pharkurnell: I’ve got no idea how you came up with that conclusion. We online shop frequently and visit the shops every few days so we don’t waste unnecessarily but good on you for jumping to conclusions.
@bobwokeup: We the majority prefer to buy cheap, responsible brands' products are a luxury, just like new rental properties
@resisting the urge: Actually, not true, and you’ll see that by all of the comments/votes on this post alone. Maybe on this page overall there might be more but in the real world people are being more responsible.
@bobwokeup: There are options consumers have sure, but people don't include packaging in their purchase decisions (in Oz, statistically speaking at least).
Votes on a social feed of any kind are meaningless unreality.
I defy you to find a salesperson tell you they encounter more than two people a year ask them whether their choice of new appliance comes in recyclable packaging, let alone changes their preference over it - whether it be white goods, consumer electronics, furniture…
@resisting the urge: Yeah good point I forget to ask as I assume most are responsible, as there’s not many that do plastic etc any more. Maybe it’s just the places I buy from who knows but at least it’s changing.
My point was outside of this page, people are becoming more aware and are slowly changing their ways.
its not that straight forward!
A lot of things are "recyclable", it is different to what actually gets recycled. I have seen both bins being mixed in the same trash compactor.
@[Deactivated]: Some trucks are dual cavity, the bins are tipped into the same chute but a sliding diverter delivers the contents to different chambers. Better education should be done to let consumers know about this, because they see a single truck pick up both and assume it becomes co-mingled.
Yes, it has been seen that lazy workers have mixed contents in single cavity trucks, but regular auditing of waste occurs and this is a rare occurrence these days.
That’s recyclable and does not go in the red bin unless the sender isn’t responsible.
nobody is forcing you to buy it? we only have a small red bin and i don't think we've ever filled it.
Buy secondhand.
This is the lazy approach. Do better. We hardly fill our bin. Could probably go monthly (not that I expect this to be practical or sensible)
Take it out of packagibg at shops and leave it there. Then they can deal with it or make their suppliers change
I'll bite.
We would generally have ~25% full roadside bin (general waste) prior to the REDCycle closure. Now most weeks its ~50%.
Recycling bin is typically 80-100%; ~150%+ some weeks (we have a second recycling bin).
We do compost and also keep much of our uneaten food (young children) for relative's pets. We also collect some other items separate recycling: blister packaging (tablets), toothpaste tubes/toothbrushes, face masks.
All of this is not for virtue signalling, but as it's the "right thing" to do and takes minimal effort on my part - we are not overly conscious in regards to packaging on purchases, although we typically get our fruit & veg from a fruit shop over the supermarket, the former of which generally uses less packaging than the latter.
@The Wololo Wombat: 0.001%? Possibly. As you said, never done the maths. I'd argue against the "infinite upper limit" - not against the infinite limit itself, as I'd agree with that, but in that it completely ignores the infinite lower limit: we don't know what positive impact/s our child/ren could have on the climate. They could invent some new technologies or processes that completely reverse climate change.
Not sure I'd say it makes me feel good - I suppose it does, in a way - I just do it as it feels like the "right thing to do". I also like to think that there's many people like me in that regard: people that do things like composting to reduce their environmental impact. Not for any platitudes or acknowledgement, but purely because it's the "right thing to do". I don't besmirch those that don't - I don't know your circumstances, and it is something that takes my time (as in consumes some of my time, not that it's laborious or consumes lots of my time). Although if anyone is after advice or information I'm more than happy to oblige.
What do you mean in regard to "expect[ing] the same of everyone else with those numbers"? As in expect others to compost, recycle, etc? No, I don't expect anyone to do anything. I would like people to consider it - there's a lot of waste that goes to landfil that could have been composted. Collecting non-kerbside recycables (like I have) isn't hard either (although full disclosure: I'm yet to actually drop any of that stuff off for recycling: we forget to take it every time we're heading that way) Having said that, I think the real thing to do (over composting) would be to get chickens: they'll take the compostable and non-compostable food waste and generate eggs in return.
In regard to still thinking it's worth it after doing the maths: I'd be surprised if anyone has done the maths factoring all/most variables: there's so many variables involved. But even with the maths, I'd still do it: because I feel it's the right thing to do. I have no illusions that my actions alone are making any sort of impact: I'm one person in a world of billions, and even then residential contributions are generally far outweighed by other areas like industry. And even looking at just how much my actions are reducing my own impact, even if it's <1% (or 0.001% as you said), I'd still do it. Because I feel it's the right thing to do.
@Chandler: Agree with @Chandler. It's much easier to sit and type 0.001% etc. It's way harder to do the right thing. When I used to redcycle, it was quite difficult as family members don't care and I used to go through the garbage etc and make a trip to chuck it in Redcycle.
If 0.001% of the population try to improve the earth rather than just cast negativity, then we might just pull through.
You (and clearly others agree) speak of "the right thing to do" as if it's a self-evident premise. I take a large issue with that.
As you should. That's why I premised those statements with "I feel". Other's may not feel the same way, and that's ok. There may arguably not be any "right way" of doing things. This is my "right way". Would I like others to agree with me? Yes. Would I like others to challenge me on it? Yes. I have a perfectionist streak, and so I like to do things "the right way". Do I get that right every time? No, hence appreciating being challenged.
It being my "right way" is also why I answered your question in regards to expectations the way I did. I don't think/feel that other's should have to think/feel the same way I do, nor that they should be doing the same things or things the same way I do. In some cases I would certainly like them to consider my or alternative courses of action to what they're currently doing, but in no way do I think they should be forced in that direction - i.e. people putting recyclables in general waste: sure, I'd prefer them to put recyclables in the recycling system, but I'm also not going to try to force them, and would generally not point it out to them that they should do so, unless other information makes me think that they don't understand what they're putting in the general waste is recyclable. I also understand that recycling isn't perfect, some of it ultimately ends up in general waste for various reasons, and that recycling is actually the last resort in the "reduce, reuse, recycle" sequence.
It isn't particularly clear what is and is not "the right thing to do". Is the right thing to sell your car? To never watch TV? To refrain from using AC? To grow your own food?
That's something that someone has to answer for themselves. To answer your particular statements:
- Sell car? Yes - there are more environmentally friendly options for transport. But cars offer a significant amount of convenience (i.e. travel time - my 20min commute would be over 1 hour using public transport, and probably more if self-propelled…)
- Never watch TV? Sure: it's unproductive. But it does provide mental health benefits (although can be a negative for some). I personally don't have a lot of time and so don't watch much TV anyway, but I do have an ever-growing watchlist!
- Refrain from using AC? Yes. A significant (for a household) amount of electricity gets used to purely shift heat. Better insulation/thermal design would remove some of this need, and even then generally only for comfort: we should really move to an area with a more hospitable climate. Do I use A/C? Every day (car), every workday (workplace) and in the home (frequently over summer).
You mentioned the positive impacts that increasing the human population;
No, I mentioned the infinite lower limit of (positive) impact of having children, to counterbalance your comment about the infinite upper limit of (negative) impact. Personally I don't see the need for increasing the population - personally I think China may have been at least thinking in the right direction with their one-child policy (completely ignoring their implementation), although in the West at least it seems a lot of countries have self-managed this (natural population growth <1.0).
For me, it's a zero-sum game…
What do you mean by zero-sum here? "Zero-sum" typically means any gains are offset by losses, i.e. the sum of all components is zero; you get out as much as you put in. The typical implication being that it's "not worth it".
we're clearly on the right path where we (as a society) are inventing our way out of our negative environmental impacts… biodegradables, lab meats, efficient logistic… just two weeks ago I was privileged enough to tour Australia's newest Solar Farm, one that has the capacity to power half 250,000 homes
I think it'll take a lot to not just reach zero impact, but to undo a lot of the damage we've done. Yes, we're heading in the right direction in some areas, but in others we're either not moving forward at all or in some cases moving even further backwards. And that's ignoring the fact that some of the "net zero" b*s* is about counterbalancing ongoing emissions (i.e by planting trees, etc), not removing actual emissions.
You recycle - great, I do too… but modern society is way too intertwined with energy consumption for that to matter, even on a large scale…
True - adding to that, one aspect I had never considered about recycling is energy usage (whether that be electricity or fuel) for the process itself. Is recycling actually a net positive for the environment?
in fact, humanity has always been like this, since the dawn of civilization… We (humanity) are also really good at being cynical and judging others for the 'speck' in their eyes while we fail to see the 'log' in our own eyes.
Thankfully I feel that I'm not like that (at least not yet, haha!) - just because I feel I'm doing the right thing doesn't mean I am, and it doesn't mean "they're" not. Again, I like to think I'm pretty open and like to discuss things with people and get their opinions to help improve my own.
It feels quite sanctimonious to suggest that simply reducing your landfill or composting your uneaten food is 'the right thing' within the context of your incredible (and unescapable) consumption as a human in the 21st century
Whilst I understand you're point - and you're right (IMO) - in the context of our incredible and inescapable consumption as a human in the 21st century, would it not be the "right thing" to do such things as recycling and composting. If our consumption is truly inescapable, then reducing waste is not an option, and thus reusing and failing that, recycling, are the "right thing" to do?
For me, discussions about climate have felt anti-human and extremely pessimistic (anti-human progress/flourishing) when that's the only real cure to the problem (I'm glad you agree here).
Well it is - Agent Smith was (IMO) quite right when he said that "humans are a disease": if Earth was a human body, the immune system would be all over us!
We're not going to 'recycle our way out' of this, or 'judge others into correct behaviors'…..
Exactly. And that's why I'm not judgemental about waste reduction, recycling, composting, etc. There's plenty more I could do myself to reduce my own environmental impact, so I'm not about to try and impose others to do anything (not that I would even if my environmental impact profile was perfect - it's just not in my nature). I will always suggest others consider it, especially things like composting as I personally feel it is a low effort way of significantly reducing household waste (obviously depending on your household's consumption profile: if you don't use a lot of fruit/vegetables, then composting is probably a waste of time).
we're going (and are) developing better ways of doing things as a species so we can continue to consume (and we can't escape that) without the same environmental impacts
I certainly hope so, because as you said - we're not going to "recycle our way out of this".
I take a large issue with that.
nobody cares
I reckon you know that, and that's why you're like this
@GrueHunter: I think a lot of people care about this issue. This is why this topic made the front page.
For me, discussions about climate have felt anti-human and extremely pessimistic (anti-human progress/flourishing)
How could you possibly say this right after listing some of the progress and optimism that has come out of discussions about "climate"?
We're not going to 'recycle our way out' of this, or 'judge others into correct behaviors'….. we're going (and are) developing better ways of doing things as a species so we can continue to consume (and we can't escape that) without the same environmental impacts.
Isn't this the entire point? You responded to a post saying "create less landfill", in other words, continue to consume without the same environmental impacts. It's not about consuming less, it's about, for example, choosing to purchase better quality goods so that you're not throwing out cheap shit year after year.
To be honest, this is the issue I have with your arguments - you are twisting yourself into a pretzel to take a particular political position, even when you know it's wrong.
You know that there's huge progress being made in science, engineering, technology, but you have to continue saying that discussions on climate are "anti-human and extremely pessimistic" to continue fitting in with your "political side". Just like you know that "creating less landfill" is indeed a reasonable solution and one we should be working towards, but again, you need to make a point about being "virtuous" to, again, continue fitting in with your "political side".
It's just sad really.
@The Wololo Wombat: No single raindrop thinks it caused the flood.
Even if there might soon be technologies to get us out of our current mess, it doesn't take away from the fact we should all be doing what we can to fight the unnecessary waste society produces each day. We need to set an example on being kind to the planet, not to hope someone else does it for us.
@WeeDeePotato: Are you a vegan? Because it’d be hypocritical if you were not a vegan with your logic.
@The Wololo Wombat: Coming from someone who has no logic at all. You need to take a good look in the mirror and sort yourself out.
@bobwokeup: No. My views are consistent with my actions and I don’t have any cognitive dissonance. I encourage you the think further on this matter until you can say the same.
@bobwokeup: Read my post again. I’ve not said anything about not taking personal action myself. I’m taking issue with people (like yourself) judging others on specific (scapegoat) actions (eg, recycling, composting, avoiding straws) and overvaluing the (negligible) impact those same actions have within the context of their incredible consumption.
I actually believe this ‘false virtue’ does more harm to the climate cause… as it does not correctly diagnose the core problem.
Like, I’m serious about the vegan comment. Why are not not vegan with the opinion you have expressed here?
Are you a vegan? Because it’d be hypocritical if you were not a vegan with your logic.
You're missing the point. The entire point is that each person should take it upon themselves to try and do better in whatever way makes most sense for them. It's about living with consideration and thought, and realising that our day to day actions have a large impact on our planet and our community.
For some, it could be catching public transport to work. That's not feasible for everyone, it may be others choose to be vegan. If you really don't want to be vegan, maybe you could choose to buy your clothes from an op shop instead of choosing cheap throwaway clothes. And if you really don't like trains, and love eating meat, and really need to have your fashion, maybe it's choosing to drive a more economical vehicle.
I'm sure you get the point, but are just pretending to be dense and flail your arms about saying "me no likey".
@The Wololo Wombat: Have another look at your comment, it got a lot of negs (currently 18) and shows how negative a person you are. No one agrees with you, as you don’t make any sense.
@bobwokeup: You’ve not responded to my points. There’s also a bunch of logical fallacies in your reply here.
@bobwokeup: I believe you can learn something from everyone. I would say that it’s hard to change someone’s mind if they are not open to it, however. This might be the ‘stupid’ you are referring to above.
@WeeDeePotato: Ok. I'm impressed and I think that's awesome. It annoys me when people hold views like yours but are not vegan as it shows they are not consistent (or perhaps ignorant). I'm too 'selfish' to be vegan, as I value my own preferences and enjoyment as more valuable than the suffering of animals. I come to this decision as I value human life (and the enjoyment of it) exponentially more important than the value of animal life - which is still important but not when compared with value human life.
@The Wololo Wombat: I agree with what you're saying re lack of consistency. (e.g. people turning off their lights for earth hour, but then they drive a Toyota Prado in the city even though they don't need it).
Veganism isn't necessarily just about the direct suffering of animals btw, it's a wider philosophy where we try to limit our impact on animals (and really, the planet) in many ways - not using animal products, not taking away their habitats / pollute them, trying our best to limit our part in global warming, etc. Every bit counts. If more go vegan there's less demand and hopefully less ability for companies to do the wrong thing.
Basically plastics cannot be recycled. It's a common myth - check out John Oliver's bit on it. For example, REDCycle would 'recycle' soft plastics, but actually what they were doing was just melting them down to those hidous bench chairs you might see at Coles - which would then go straight to landfill when they do a new fitout (or sooner). It is just landfill in plain sight; and will still form microplastics.
The reality is that comingled plastics are not easy to split back out to their individual types. Even if you did, they cannot remove the dyes so you will get this ugly weird-coloured plastic that is not stable enough for packaging.
The solution is simply to stop using plastics. This is difficult to do in practice since almost all companies use it and there are zero incentives for them to stop.
So yeah, I gotta say, apart from food and cardboard (which is good stuff), you are wasting your time.
Oh, also glass is difficult to recycle due to dyes as well - a lot ends up in roads and is basically more landfill in plain sight.
@pos: The fact that many companies now use cardboard packing materials shows that they are incentivised by consumer sentiment.
@us3rnam3tak3n: I would argue it's actually only a small negligible portion; but a step in the right direction (I'm not aware of any, but I am sure there would be a handful). The reality is most products involve plastic packaging in some form and it would require coordinated government action to make the requisite changes within a decade.
Totally agree, just don’t use or buy or eat anything at all so nothing is generated to harm the environment.
Humans harm the environment
Get rid of people permanently
Just leave your Bin out Weekly.
Fight your invisible enemy.