I was
bemused at the title Unley’s new Waste Management and Resource Recovery Plan.
It seems that last time we looked at this in was a roadside collection plan. I
can remember clearly as a child what we did with our rubbish. My father dug a
deep hole just outside the fenced house block and all rubbish went in the hole:
we lived in the middle of nowhere. When it was filled he dug a new one. When we
had finished eating or drinking anything in the car the waste simply went out
the window, being careful that the container was empty and the passenger behind
had their window up. With the
introduction of 10c for each container this practice soon stopped. Then
followed the single household bin; we had little kids and a big garden needed
two and paid for the extra one. We taught the kids how to sort the stuff that
could be recycled and they took great pleasure in getting it neatly in the
black box supplied by Council. That is until they saw the same pick up truck
empty the carefully sorted recyclables
into the same truck as the other rubbish and lost all interest. Then
came a separate bin for the green stuff and we were able to manage with one
other bin. Then the council provided us with three bins and nothing much has
changed except which stuff goes in what bin?
In the early 2000’s the hard
waste that people had was collected by Council on an annual basis but some
people thought they could also dump as they pleased whatever they had no use
for. Council went all out with Crime Scene tape and letters to residents which
has mostly stopped this practice. With
education, free green kitchen caddies and good data collection we now see more
food waste going into the green bins. This practice, is however, problematic
for people in apartments as they often do not have access to a green bin. The
green waste is all recycled to become compost: a resource recovered. The contents
of the recycling bin is also recovered. That leaves only the little blue bin
that goes to landfill. It is this that Council has to pay to dump at ever
increasing prices. We rarely have much in our bin these days and ideas like
reducing how often this bin is emptied are tempting as a rate saver. The
contractors are currently paid on the number of properties they pass but the
new plan suggests they might be paid on the actual number of bins lifted. Given
all of this its time to see our waste in a new light; remember the old adage one
man’s trash might be Council’s treasure.
