Page 523 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 February 2020
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I have spoken to various charities over recent times who have charity collection bins around Yerrabi, and they all talk of the high cost of maintaining them, cleaning up the rubbish that is frequently left there and disposing of goods that are not and cannot be used. Charities have mounted their own campaigns to encourage consumers to think about the quality and value of items before donating. As it stands nationally, charities are spending approximately $13 million a year on sending 60,000 tonnes of unwanted items to landfill. This problem is not just around charity bins. Often those unused items litter the footpath outside charities, so organisations have no choice but to clean those areas up, often on a daily basis.
Having spoken to charities over the past few weeks I know that, despite the costs to charities, donations received this way are still an incredibly valuable revenue stream. Some charities are using these goods purely to resell for fabric and material. Others try to pass the goods directly on to those in need. Either way, they are taking the burden off the taxpayer, off the government, and they are trying to reduce the amount of material going to waste.
We should support them, work with them and try to fix the problem. We could be moving these bins to better locations, helping with lighting and CCTV and having better signage and simplified reporting processes. These are commonsense things that could make a big difference. We could have a more proactive approach from city rangers and increased enforcement to deter those that continue to do the wrong thing. This would show a genuine partnership with our local not-for-profit sector. These are strategies that would complement the great work already underway across our community.
The work of charities is one aspect. The Green Shed and other local recycling initiatives, such as local Buy Nothing groups on Facebook, repair collectives and free clothing and toy pantries popping up all over town—including five in Ngunnawal, which is a record, I think—are the efforts of local residents doing practical, commonsense things to make a difference. Why can we not expect the same from our government?
Then there is the everyday dumping that is occurring in our suburbs. Vacant blocks in new suburbs such as Moncrieff, Taylor and Throsby are having household rubbish left on a regular basis. Construction rubbish and loose litter are also massive concerns. But established suburbs are not immune to this issue, either with rubbish often left in parks, around bins or at the back of local shops. In my capacity as the shadow sports and recreation minister, I have also been contacted by several local sporting clubs and residents’ associations about household rubbish being left at grounds or put in dumpsters. We are not talking about just a trash bag; we are talking about large volumes here—broken furniture, car parts and all sorts. I get reports on a weekly basis from suburbs like Forde and Amaroo, Palmerston and Kaleen. This issue really is everywhere.
Another frequent concern for residents is the issue of abandoned cars. These often litter major roads like Horse Park Drive and Gungahlin Drive and are left there for weeks. These may be burned-out cars with police tape and parts torn off them. This is not the kind of image we want to project for our local neighbourhood.
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