Residents blast major bin change coming to millions of Aussie households: 'A joke'
While the change is being hailed by some, others are less convinced that having a purple bin is necessary.
A major rubbish bin change affecting millions of Australian households has been branded 'a joke' by resistant local residents. It comes after Mitchell Shire Council announced that from March next year, a 4-bin system will be rolled out.
The new purple-lidded rubbish bin, which is designated for glass, will sit alongside its red, green and yellow counterparts and is expected to sit outside all of Victoria's 2.3 million households by 2030. The change is part of a $515 million reform of the recycling system, and while some council areas have already made the change, others are still in the process.
Those in the industry are praising the move, which will ultimately see more glass products recycled — but some residents are less convinced, as it'll mean general rubbish bins will be collected less frequently and many in other council areas have already complained of overflowing bins and bad smells as a result.
Residents express frustration at purple bin change
After Mitchell Shire Council's announcement online earlier this week, residents were quick to react and while some were delighted that it's "finally" happening, others blasted the change, which includes fortnightly general rubbish and mixed recycling, but weekly food and garden organics. Meanwhile, the glass recycling would be monthly. It was called "a bit silly" and "certainly a joke".
"Fortnightly general rubbish?" one resident lamented, calling on council to "do better". "Clearly not enough for families with children in nappies. I’m sure they can’t be put in other categories either," they added.
"Looks like I'm spray painting the purple lid red so I have 2 rubbish bins and enough space for rubbish for two weeks," said another frustrated local. "We barely have enough space for 1 week with nappies.
"Majority of houses already have bins overflowing and crows feasting weekly," pointed out a third, who asked, "where are 4 bins meant to be stored?"
As the war on waste rages on, many council areas in the state already have a fortnightly general rubbish pickup. New South Wales residents have also seen changes to their bin cycles, prompting backlash. The frustration from residents even prompted Victoria's Knox City councillor Darren Pearce to propose a $37-a-year charge to residents to revert to weekly waste collection.
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Households the 'front line' of consumer recycling
Suzanne Toumbourou, CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling told Yahoo that the change should be welcomed and said household recycling is the "front line" to ensuring that consumer waste ends up in the right place.
"Change can be hard, and change can sometimes be inconvenient," she admitted. But added that it wouldn't be long before the transition becomes a "normal part of life".
Toumbourou explained that the point of a separate glass bin is to ensure a cleaner stream of recycled material. "When you have a cleaner stream of recyclable material, you can create more value out of that," meaning more products can be created from recycled glass like jars and bottles.
Broken glass is among the biggest contaminants in the recycling stream and glass put in the same bin as paper, cardboard and plastics can contaminate an entire recycling load, according to Infrastructure Victoria.
Mitchell Shire Acting Mayor Nathan Clark said: "We’re in a fortunate position where we can learn from other councils that have already introduced the four-bins so we can provide a service that is likely to have the best outcomes for our environment and the best financial benefit for our community.
"Based on other councils’ experiences, a weekly food and garden organics and a fortnightly general rubbish kerbside service has the best environmental outcomes as it diverts more waste from landfill."
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