Council slammed over 'idiotic' change to rubbish bins: 'ALL WRONG'
The move will help to reduce green waste contamination in the red bin.
A local council in Victoria has been slammed by residents after announcing a major change to the frequency of their bin collection.
Starting this month, the red-lid bin, which is for general household rubbish, will be collected fortnightly rather than weekly, the same as the yellow-lid recycling bin, while the green-lid bin, used for food and garden waste, will now be collected weekly.
Greater Shepparton City Council, a regional area north of Melbourne, announced the news on Facebook this week, but the post was met with fury from residents. Many spoke out against the idea with one claiming it's "ridiculous".
"So what if you are renting and have a small red lid bin?" one questioned in the comments. "Do we just throw our garbage bags on the kerbside when the small bin gets full in the first week. This is just ridiculous!"
"The council has this all wrong. Just leave it the way it is. Why change something that isn't broken," another said. While a third labelled the new change as "the most idiotic thing the council has come up with".
Others pointed out some obvious issues with the change of collection. "Gunna be a lot of smelly nappies in the red bins now if only being collected every 2 weeks," one said. Another said there'll probably be "a lot of waste on the road", adding "hope the council hires more people to clean that rubbish up it’s gonna be disgusting".
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What prompted the bin collection change?
The collection frequency change will help reduce green waste (food and garden organics) contamination in the red bin, which is currently around 53% by weight, the council explained. The change aligns with the Victorian goverment's targets to divert 80% of waste from landfill by 2030.
"Our community is committed to reducing green waste contamination in the red bin, which is currently around 53% by weight," it says on the council website. "A weekly green-bin collection ensures compostable material does not go to Cosgrove Landfill."
The changes will be carried out from March 16 in Kialla with other suburbs to follow. The new collection times will commence in Tatura from March 22 and the remainder of Greater Shepparton from September.
A fourth bin to be introduced
A new coloured bin will also be joining the other three —a purple-lidded one, designated for glass. Some Victorian councils began the rollout last year and the rest will have them by 2024.
The four-bin system is part of the state government's plan to standardise household recycling and waste services across the state. To comply with the new Recycling and Waste Policy, council must introduce a fourth purple-lid bin for glass, which will be collected monthly to improve the diversion of glass waste from landfill and increase resource recovery.
"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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