Yahoo Lifestyle Councillor's $37-a-year proposal after controversial bin change
Residents have been told they must cover the costs of reverting back to a weekly bin change.
The widespread rollout of fortnightly bin collections has riled up Aussies across the country as more and more councils make the shift from a weekly pick-up cycle to fortnightly.
But as the war on waste continues, yet another council is facing pressure to overturn the controversial decision regarding the general waste collection cycle after more complaints of overflowing bins and bad smells from residents.
Across Victoria, the march towards fortnightly general rubbish pick-up is well underway with Knox City Council, in Melbourne's outer-east, the latest to make the change. New South Wales residents have also seen changes to their bin cycles, prompting a wave of backlash across the state — most notably in Sydney's inner-west.
It's hoped the collection frequency change will help reduce green waste (food and garden organics) contamination in the general rubbish bin (red lid in NSW and yellow lid in Victoria). It will also help divert waste from landfill. However, residents believe the changes have led to more dumped rubbish and mess throughout their neighbourhood.
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Councillor's proposal to solve bin dilemma
Knox councillor Darren Pearce agrees the plan has not worked out so well and he too is pushing his colleagues to revert to weekly pick-up. He joins a couple of Inner-west councillors in Sydney who in February voiced their concerns over the local council's bin plans.
Pearce claimed reverting back to weekly pick-ups would only cost ratepayers "10 cents a day" despite fellow councillor Jude Dwight arguing it's "not a cost-efficient way to manage waste" in the area.
Pearce has proposed a resolution that would see "an extra contract that is purely for yellow waste bin collection" — or general household waste. "There would be an increase (for ratepayers) of $37 a year but we would be able to increase the frequency," he told Nine News.
Dwight however has shut down the idea saying,"to apply this across the board means the people who don't require that service also have to pay for it". Instead, eligible residents can request a second bin for free, however pick-up would remain fortnightly.
Four-bin system to roll out across Victoria
A purple-lidded bin designed for bottles is also being rolled out across Victoria, joining the other three —food and garden, mixed recycling and general rubbish. Some Victorian councils began the rollout last year and the rest will have them by 2024. NSW already has them in circulation.
The four-bin system is part of the state government's plan to standardise household recycling and waste services across the state.
"Victoria’s move to standardise the bin system will help consumers make better decisions at the bin and reduce contamination too," Australian Council of Recycling CEO Suzanne Toumbourou previously told Yahoo News Australia.
"Householders have a really meaningful role to play, and they will be further motivated to play that role as they see really great recycling roles being delivered by our sector."
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