Charity bins retreat to evade the dumpers scourge

There are plenty of old age pensioners who can’t drive, or people living on the dole with no cars who can’t afford tip fees, and can’t get to the tip anyway.

Whilst I personally don’t think that the tip fees are too much, I could certainly see the benefit of allowing rate payers a couple of trips to the tip for free. Where my parents live the Shire Council sends a bunch of coupons out with your receipt or rates … That way when you pay your rates, you get a four trips to the tip (one each quarter) a couple of free passes to the local pool and some other stuff. It seems to work.

On the issue if the pathetic sh!tbags that dump their useless crap at charity bins, it’s an enforcement thing really. I don’t think t warrants police attention, but surely the ACT has Rangers or similar that could hand out some fines.

dungfungus said :

The dumping fees at the tip are a rip-off. In Albury, the council gives out 4 free dumping coupons a year to every ratepayer. Now that would be a vote winner in an ACT election year Katy, but too late now; we have enough of your hypocrisy this last few months.

Along a similar lines, what about say one or two free dumps per vehicle rego per calendar year or something? That prevents people from ‘trading’ their free tip coupons with businesses and other users.

I helped a friend with a couple of tip runs last year and when I arrived to pick up the rubbish with the ute, I was amazed how much recyclable material was in the rubbish pile. We spent 20min pulling the recyclables out of the pile, and reduced the tip bill from (probably around $50) to $10 and an extra trip to the local recycling depot (closer than the tip anyway). The only reason the $10 load was left was because we got lazy, but almost all of it could have been disposed of cheaply.

Dumping your stuff near charity bins is dumb. But people get away with it, so something else needs to be done. Outside the ACT most councils provide kerbside pickups.

For example http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/services/waste-and-recycling/kerbside-cleanups

Why can’t this be done in Canberra? We pay enough in rates.

BimboGeek said :

Don’t throw out your CRT screens! Stick them on Yoink! I loved Yoink when I needed some extra furniture and stuff.

Yes throw them out … you won’t be able to give them away (feel free to try, of course). Stuff is so cheap these days … “poor” people have monster LCDs in every room and on every computer. CRT? Free? Pffffft. This is why charities won’t take them – they can’t give them away, much less sell them. May be a different story with printers, but I doubt it.

Cost of dumping CRTs varies by size … 17″ would be $15 ea.
http://www.tams.act.gov.au/live/Recycling_and_Waste/recyclingandwastecentres/mitchell_rmc

damien haas said :

Just be honest – the dumpers are lazy filthy scum.

+1

People are throwing their old sh1t on the streets?

Surely this is the gummint’s fault!

Don’t throw out your CRT screens! Stick them on Yoink! I loved Yoink when I needed some extra furniture and stuff.

And it shall be called ‘Project Soylent’

I need to dispose of 6 17″ CRT computer monitors soon (and a few oldish laser printers). Does the tip still charge for dumping these? (price?) Anyone want these – they’re all in perfect working order – just don’t need them.

Taking to tip next week, but if there is a recycle for computer equipment that doesn’t charge that would be better, but otherwise a trip to the tip for me!

LSWCHP said :

.

Really, a marksman with a scoped rifle is the only answer to this nonsense.

As long as the bodies are recycled as pet and plant food. Remember, No Waste by 2012

This looks like an election year stunt. It creates more problems than it sets out to solve apart from closing down some locations.
I saw a well dressed lady ransacking the overflowing bins at Erindale Shops carpark yesterday. She was filling a couple of Woolies shopping trolleys with the best stuff and wheeling the loot to a top of the range wagon; obviously these discarded items had more value for her than they would have at the Salvo’s shop.
The dumping fees at the tip are a rip-off. In Albury, the council gives out 4 free dumping coupons a year to every ratepayer. Now that would be a vote winner in an ACT election year Katy, but too late now; we have enough of your hypocrisy this last few months.

damien haas said :

The tip fee argument doesn’t hold water. I take a panel van load of crap to the tip and get charged 10 to 15 dollars. Just be honest – the dumpers are lazy filthy scum.

Sound of nail being hit on head.

Every month or so for several years I have taken stuff to the recycling bins in Belconnen. At first people were very good – paper in the big cage and other recyclables in the skips provided. Gradually it has become a mess – people put paper, old TVs, cans of used engine oil, etc in the skips. Won’t be long before this facility is either closed down or needs staffing. Either way we all lose and all because of a few morons.

The tip fee argument doesn’t hold water. I take a panel van load of crap to the tip and get charged 10 to 15 dollars. Just be honest – the dumpers are lazy filthy scum.

Answered your own question there I think al.

This will hardly scratch the surface of the problem of dumping around the town centres.

On the GCC Facebook page (http://facebook.com/gungahlin) one resident made the very good suggestion that charity bins be located inside the Mitchell waste transfer station, so is only accessible during open hours. The suggestion was well received and i passed it on to Katy Gallagher myself. Seems it has gone nowhere though…

sepi said :

All this is going to do is make it harder for anyone who actually wants to donate decent clothes etc to charity. At the moment the best charity bins are the out of the way ones that are emptied daily, not the revolting clusters of rubbish in carparks like the ones at Dickson and Southlands that they are planning to keep.

I’d argue that the people with decent clothes and goods that they want to donate to charity will be more likely to make the effort to head directly to one of the charity stores and drop their goods to the store itself, rather than dumping them in a bin.

That’s what we do – plus we get the added bonus of a thank you with a smile when we drop stuff off. When we dropped stuff off directly to the Smith Family in Belconnen after Christmas this year, the genuine gratitude from the lady sorting stuff made the drive completely worthwhile. They’d just finished sorting out the massive pile of junk that had been dumped in and around the bins outside the store over the break, and she seemed shell shocked.

All I can say is that if you truly want to give to one of these charities, just make the effort to drop stuff of directly to one of their stores. It’s not like it’s a huge effort – just throw them in the car the next time you’re heading to one of the town centers, it doesn’t even need to be a special trip.

All this is going to do is make it harder for anyone who actually wants to donate decent clothes etc to charity. At the moment the best charity bins are the out of the way ones that are emptied daily, not the revolting clusters of rubbish in carparks like the ones at Dickson and Southlands that they are planning to keep.

Are they just ignoring the elephant in the room that is their overpriced Tip ‘Fees then? Reducing tip fees and/or offering hard rubbish days would save a fortune in clearing old rubbish from nature strips and reserves.

I think it’s too late. The dumpers can apparently no longer be bothered soothing their consciences by dumping their crap near charity bins and pretending they’re helping the needy. I’ve seen sofas, old TV’s and boxes of junk just left by the road around various places in Belco recently.

Really, a marksman with a scoped rifle is the only answer to this nonsense.

We have a Ranger of Recycling Opportunities? Does he (or she) wear the same outfit as the rangers that give parking tickets?