IN MY term as Councillor one of the hot issues that the community spoke to me about was the summer pick up of the red (landfill) bin.
I tried twice to have the red bin picked up each week from Christmas to Australia Day. Sadly, twice the motion was defeated.
With the announcement by the State Government that composting will become optional. It has become urgent to put in place measures to have the red bin (landfill) picked up weekly from Christmas to Australia Day.
Under the new State Government proposal, the kitchen caddies with the green liners will be eliminated. It is inevitable that the food scraps will end up in the red bin. The argument that a weekly pick up will create more rubbish is ludicrous. A weekly pick up will only collect the rubbish that is already there.
In the summer months we cannot have a situation where the stinking red bin is “cooking” in the summer heat. We cannot allow the red bin to be only picked up once a fortnight.
Besides the stench, it is also an Occupational Health and Safety issue. Phillip Island/Millowl is on one of Victoria’s leading tourist destinations. If we want to keep that reputation measures must be put in place now. It will require some lead time to renegotiate the waste contract to accommodate the extra pick-ups.
If elected, I will again move to have the red bin picked up each week from Christmas to Australia Day.
Ronnie Bauer, Candidate for the Island Ward
