After my oldest son moved out earlier this year, I decided to do something a little different. I moved out of our rental home and for the past six months I’ve been a house and pet minder, looking after the furry loved ones of those who have gone away for short or long periods.
I’ve been doing this for six months now and I’m loving it. But having done these gigs across several suburbs of Melbourne, I’ve noticed something.
The various councils each have their own rules when it comes to rubbish collection. And it’s driving me bananas (the skins of which can go in the green waste bin where I’m currently staying – I think)!
For a start, across all suburbs, the bin lid’s colour designates what can be placed inside. But here’s the thing: across the different local government areas (LGAs), the colours mean different things!
A while ago I stayed at a place where recycled materials had to be placed in bins with a blue lid. General waste went into red-lidded bins. Another LGA had dark-green lids for general waste and yellow for recyclables.
But that’s just the start. In some LGAs glass goes in with the other recycling materials. In others it must be placed in a separate bin.
In my ‘home’ LGA, the City of Yarra, the yellow-lid recycle bin accepts hard plastic – but not all hard plastics. So before you part with your plastic you have to look for the number on the base and see if it ‘makes the grade’.
Incredibly, it gets even more complicated from there. If you have number ‘5’ on your plastic container, it’s easy. Chuck it straight in. But if the plastic is marked ‘1’ or ‘2’, you can pop it in the recycle bin, but only if it’s a bottle!
If it’s some other shape, and you put it in the recycle bin, fire rains down from heaven and you are transported immediately into purgatory. Well, not quite, but you might get a warning sticker on your bin.
On one occasion I had a plastic container that sort of looked like a bottle but maybe wasn’t. As I approached my bins with it, I thought my head would explode.
Does it have to be so complicated? Can’t we have a standardised system across Australia? Or across the state, at least? Is this also an issue in other states and territories? What do you think about how your waste disposal is handled?
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