Trash forgotten in West Macgregor

Yipee! The rubbish was finally taken away today at 3pm. It only took another phone call and they were still 3 hours behind promised pickup.
Now I have 24 hours to fill it and have it ready on the street. Hopefully this time it will be a smooth operation. We will see.

Well, folks, at the risk of being labeled a person with no compassion or sense of decency I will attempt to return this story to what it was originally about.
It is now after normal business hours – 7:30pm – Monday and our street’s bins still haven’t been collected. I received a phone call this afternoon from TAMS, apologizing and confirming the information I’d left on Friday. There was sincerity in his advice that it would be done this afternoon and confirmation with a second call half an hour later. Now, if the contractor says it will be done but isn’t, the government department says it will be done but isn’t, who do I turn to next?
It isn’t so much that more bins are now overflowing rubbish into the street that annoys me so much, it’s the fact that people aren’t delivering on their promises. I understand that trucks break down, people get sick and there are many reasons things run late. I don’t understand the “yes sir” answers rather than being told it might be delayed a bit longer if that is the case. Honesty might win them a little respect, but now I’m off to find the next level of command to appeal to.

Jamika said :

…a little perspective on the severity of your so called ‘garbage problem’. You really do have nothing to whinge about.

I fail to see how you think that OP, in any way, tries to make out that this is as big a deal. YOU are the one trying to make out that OP thinks this is a big deal. The OP makes it clear that wildturkeycanoe is dissatisfied by the response given after bins were not collected on the appropriate day, nor the day after. Clearly there *is* a problem, but not every problem has to be as immense a disaster, possibly the biggest in Australia’s history, to be of interest to our own community. If something isn’t done, the problem likely persists or gets worse.

Good Luck to your family, relatives and friends up there (and anyone else reading this in a similar position) – I hope it hasn’t been too big a drama for them personally. It has been really wonderful to see how the Brisbane community (as well as the other communities affected) has come together to support each other at such a difficult time (much the same way as Canberrans did after the ’03 fires).

However, the only person making any unreasonable comparison between the “bin crisis” and the “flood crisis” on this here post, is you.

Yay for all those who are comparing this with the QLD crisis. Like I didn’t already know that!! Does a major catastrophe mean that we all stop living our normal lives and should now ignore all the rest of our problems no matter how trivial?? There are bad things happening all over the world all the time and to use that as a reason not to complain is just..well, nonsensical.
I was trying to stimulate a response as to whether we were the only ones or does this occur regularly as it’s the first time for us in 12 months of living here. Making the relevant inquiries obviously did nothing to help.
Our bin is totally full, the one inside needs emptying and I would not even consider the option of double bagging and placing it outside for later collection [garage doesn’t have room because newer houses don’t leave any room for normal sized cars let alone anything else]. The stray/domestic cats in our neighborhood would have a field day with that kind of goodness sitting beside the house, not to mention the flies, ants, and magpies [yes, I’ve seen them tear open rubbish bags to get at the goodies inside]. There are bins all through our street that are overfull and if Cleanaway wanted to get particular about things they wouldn’t hesitate at missing the non-conforming overfull bins in spite.
I did contact TAMS and left a message for the contract manager so maybe our local member might be the next step. At least I now have an idea that this does happen elsewhere and it’s not an isolated incident.
Yes there was a problem but I would have thought that making the relevant phone calls would have achieved an amicable outcome. For now I’m considering getting one fifty-second of my rates back for them not fulfilling their obligations.
Nevertheless, I’ll think about the flood victims for all you while I pick up the scraps left trailing down the road and blowing away into the “clean” suburbs who had their rubbish taken away as normal.

Pork Hunt said

“Well we aren’t in Brazil or Queensland.
Missing a collection becomes real fun when local wags with a skinful of piss decide to knock all the bins over which by now will have been sitting in the sun for a day or three.”

Well then you have a bogan problem, don’t you? Not so much a rubbish problem. I know you might regard the bogans as society’s waste, but I am not entirely sure they fall under Cleanaway’s purview

And brilliant riposte on the “We aren’t in Queensland and Brazil”, by the way. Speaks volumes for your compassion and your mastery for stating the obvious. However, my whole mob and many of my friends and family are. I am pretty sure they don’t think much of your defense of NW Canberra’s garbage problem when they have been out in the streets all day dealing with a real mess. I know you probably have a genuine grievance with the supposed ‘lack of service’ that TAMS/Cleanaway provide, but I can assure you they are about as good as it gets in this country. The whingeing that is going on in this thread does not portray Canberrans in a very strong light given the events of the past week. After fleeing Queensland 3 years ago to live (happily) in the ACT, the general attitudes of entitlement by some Canberra-types – in contrast of those of the people of my home state – have me a little worried. Without actually wanting to move back to Queensland, I think I will refer to myself as a Queenslander for a little bit longer – if only to distinguish myself from being identified as a Canberran. So yeah, once again, a little perspective on the severity of your so called ‘garbage problem’. You really do have nothing to whinge about.

Jamika said :

Oh goddamn, what a major crisis this is! They haven’t managed to collect your bins this week. I feel so sorry for you. You and your family must be suffering terribly. I am sure the nation is behind you as you struggle to overcome this tragedy. Forget the Queensland floods (or the similar crisis in Brazil) because they really have nothing to complain about, do they? I mean, at least they have teams of people working to clean up their rubbish.?

So you are saying that unless your issue is greater than or equal to the worst thing currently being reported in the media you have no right to complain?

Jamika said :

Oh goddamn, what a major crisis this is! They haven’t managed to collect your bins this week. I feel so sorry for you. You and your family must be suffering terribly. I am sure the nation is behind you as you struggle to overcome this tragedy. Forget the Queensland floods (or the similar crisis in Brazil) because they really have nothing to complain about, do they? I mean, at least they have teams of people working to clean up their rubbish.

Okay, maybe the excessive sarcasm is tacky, but I was dismayed at your whinging over such a trivial thing as a missed garbage collection.

Having said all that, I do wonder why TAMS provide such tinsy little garbage bins. Do Canberrans produce less rubbish than people in the rest of the country?

Well we aren’t in Brazil or Queensland.
Missing a collection becomes real fun when local wags with a skinful of piss decide to knock all the bins over which by now will have been sitting in the sun for a day or three.

Doesn’t happen on the Southside what is about the Northside and attracting rubbish……

Who cares if the ACT government can’t pickup your rubbish in time? They have far more important things to worry about, such as legalising homosexual “marriages” and helping imprisoned criminals shoot up smack as per their human “rights”.

Oh goddamn, what a major crisis this is! They haven’t managed to collect your bins this week. I feel so sorry for you. You and your family must be suffering terribly. I am sure the nation is behind you as you struggle to overcome this tragedy. Forget the Queensland floods (or the similar crisis in Brazil) because they really have nothing to complain about, do they? I mean, at least they have teams of people working to clean up their rubbish.

Okay, maybe the excessive sarcasm is tacky, but I was dismayed at your whinging over such a trivial thing as a missed garbage collection. The municipal services work pretty well in the ACT (I’d say better than just about anywhere else in the country – and I have lived in many, many different places), but occasionally something goes wrong. It’s hardly a matter for complaint. If they don’t collect your rubbish for several months – as was the case in Naples, Italy a couple of years ago – you would be justified in feeling a little frustrated. So please, a little perspective.

Having said all that, I do wonder why TAMS provide such tinsy little garbage bins. Do Canberrans produce less rubbish than people in the rest of the country?