31 December 2010

When Canberrans just can't wait for the op shop to open

| johnboy
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rubbish

Owen has sent through this pic of the state of the donations bins in Kippax.

West Belco represent!

Got an image of Canberra you want to share with the world? Email it to images@the-riotact.com

(And yes, after a short coastal break I’m back. Thanks to Jazz for holding the fort)

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Timberwolf657:49 am 12 Jun 11

That is pretty bad.

“Maybe they should let other people take what they want from outside the bins so the charities won’t have so much to pick up”. And get your five minutes of fame on ACA

I wish people would just apply some common sense here. If the bins are full, go find another bin (there are plenty around) to place the items. There are bins at the Florey shops and Belconnen St Vinnies. I am sure there are more others out there. Share the load to other charities.

St Vinnies in Tuggeranong has a drop box into the building that people can use to donate clothes and the like. That stops the majority of crap and junk being just left to rot.

It is a shame that we are not more efficient in re-distributing our goods. Most of this stuff could be desirable or useful to other people, but the system for getting it to the point where people can easily get access to it is very flawed.

The charity bins are only suitable for soft items. You can’t put breakable items in them. The bins are not emptied often enough, so you have people sleeping in them, or throwing fire in. Many of us give a lot of good-quality (brand label) clothes to charity, and the thought of leaving high quality clothing in those bins is not attractive.

I managed to take several bags of crockery/pottery/dining wares and some good brand clothing to the Salvos in Qbn on Thursday. Their shed behind the old church was open, and there were people there to accept my items. If it was easier to hand over excess property like this, and easier for people to come and see what’s available, there’d be a better flow of items being re-cycled.

There are bins in a similar state near the Woolworths in Jerrabomberra.

The frustrating thing is that over the border in NSW you are allowed 2 free collections a year. All you do is phone the council to arrange a date, and they send you a sticker to put on the rubbish. Two weeks later the rubbish fairy takes it away for you. It couldn’t be easier!

However, this still seems to be too much trouble for some idiots.

Unfortunately this is a regular sight at Kippax. Two weeks ago there was a washing machine dumped along with boxes of vinyl floor tiles of all things. Bags of clothes are regularly strewn across the pavement and the car park. People think they are doing others a ‘favour’ by leaving their goods – sadly it causes nothing but a headache for the charities who have to pay to have the goods removed. With the recent rain anything that is dumped is useless anyway. There IS a charity shop inside at Kippax; there are numerous charity shops at Belconnen also. EziScrap offer a free removal service of whitegoods – they have been prompt each time we have used them. The problem of dumping at charity bins will not go away unless these bins are removed. People who dump rubbish, be it at a charity bin or throwing it out of a car window, clearly have no morals, values and only give a crap about one thing. Themselves.

Hells_Bells7410:51 am 02 Jan 11

switch – I know Ezy Scrap (or similiar) picks up large metal items from curbside, not sure if it costs, but they can usually get copper out of it to cover costs I would imagine. ie. the Govt housing contracting mob pulled out our a few hot water heaters from our street and they left them out front and a week or so later Ezy Scrap or someone similiar picked them up.

Disgraceful how people dump outside bins though. Have they no pride.

lol Belco, knew it!

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of “hard rubbish” junk left on the curb in a few residential streets. Hot water tanks, washing machines, fridges, dishwashers etc. Then after a few days they’re gone. Is there some sort of collection service that takes them away?

I’ve been looking for a charity bin for a couple of weeks now to take some clothes I no longer fit into, but they are all in a state similar to this .. no matter where I find myself. I’m resolved to leave it a couple of weeks. It’s a shame people can’t help but dump garbage at the expense of charities because their too selfish to make a trip to the dump.

Maybe they should let other people take what they want from outside the bins so the charities won’t have so much to pick up.

A similar pile of crap was piled next to the charity bins at Kambah shops yesterday. If I’d had my camera on me I’d have taken a pic. It seems like the idiots just don’t want to cart their trash to the tip.

Captain RAAF9:37 pm 31 Dec 10

That the best place for a commodore and Tarago to end up!

Paul (@ #1) – probably being a wee bit generous with 3/4. I can see no “Clothing, Footwear, Blankets” in the image supplied… although, even I cannot see through thin layers of bag plastic…

tommy’s idea has particular merit… It would save a lot of problems… they could even run them at Trash and Treasure…

There were about 8 of these bins at the Gungahlin shops in the Woolworths car park. There was a huge dump of good there a couple of months ago, so now only 2 remain. It’s a shame for people who really want to donate properly, but it’s the only way to stop it.

This recurring problem faced by charities is compounded by tip issues – some of which are described on this site (see, for example, http://the-riotact.com/act-government-cant-run-a-dump/34564 ). ( I refuse to call the tip a “Resource Management Centre” – these sorts of pretentious labels give Canberra a bad name).

We really, really need that hard rubbish collection Mr Stanhope has promised (see link below) sooner rather than later. The ACT must be the only jurisdiction in Australia that does not have this kind of service. Other areas provide households with annual or biannual hard rubbish (council) collections while maintaining lower rates than those charged in the ACT. Why do Canberrans pay more yet get crappier services?

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/no-waste-target-wont-be-achieved-stanhope/1413331.aspx

Charities should really get rid of permanent bins as they attract rubbish and the charities themselves often don’t monitor them for sudden “filling” which also causes rubbish from people who can’t squeeze their stuff in – instead they should do supervised bins (ie Saturday morning at X shops – drop your stuff off in front of the watchful eye of whichever charity).

You could almost bet that 3/4 of the stuff there will have to be carted to the tip at the expense of the charities. People who dump their rubbish instead of disposing it properly should be ashamed of themselves.

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