Town Council candidate Matty Day (pictured) says he will push for a “Kick it to the Kerb” day when residents can recycle household items.
He says the council’s new waste management facility “offers some real opportunities to increase recycling rates” but he would also like days, once a year or more regularly, when residents can place larger household items like furniture on the kerb where people can help themselves to unwanted items.
“Council could then look at sponsoring the pick up of the unwanted items left after the weekend. It would basically be like a neighbourhood wide free lawn sale,” he says.
“Of course there would have to be guidelines around this but this, but it could be a great community initiative to encourage recycling, support people less fortunate and get people thinking more about innovative ways to support recycling.
“Council has shown the way in container deposit recycling and glass recycling. I think we can investigate further community options to cut down on our waste.”
Sunday, November 17, 2024
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A great idea. And refreshing to see a council candidate out there offering some real, achievable initiatives for the community.
Everything comes back to the all mighty dollar. I was the main organiser and the driver for curb side recycling in Cairns in the late 80s. The cost, facilities and many other factors where huge. This is not any easy road to travel without a very large bankroll. In saying that we do live in the age of working smarter and that is what council has done with the new transfer station. Council is working on environmental programs already. What we don’t need is a novice putting up his hand for a by election with no idea of the amazing environmental programs currently happening in our town. Implemented by council via grant funding. Monies apart from grant monies is paid to council via rates. So your plan here is to increase rates on the population of Alice Springs. You need to have some base of understanding that is elected members ensure rate monies is spent wisely and not to view ratepayers as milking cows.
More hysteria and bully tactics from Janet Brown. Novice ! Are you sure about that ?
Being so experienced in this field maybe Janet can explain to us why when commercial people running recycling pay or accept free the materials but when government intrudes into this field then there is a charge to leave the material ?
I for one think it’s good to see a council candidate pushing for improvements in the way we handle waste in this town.
As good as a new recycling facility is for Alice, it is a drop in the ocean if we are serious about the long term sustainability of our waste handling.
Recycling in Alice Springs is piecemeal and actually takes work and time. Many will be discouraged and see it as a burden to separate materials and cart them to different locations all over town, not to mention the issue of transport, cost and accessibility. Or the fuel emissions.
So recyclable materials are disposed of in household waste, and the trucks come and pick it up and dispose of it anyway, filling up our landfill.
There are hidden costs in this at literally every stage of the process that all ratepayers end up paying for. Biannual coordinated kerbside swaps and pickups (not really my definition of kerbside recycling) are a nice idea, but similarly piecemeal.
A much greater outcome would be achieved with household level sorting into paper, glass, organic and plastic materials in addition to household refuse, and have that collected kerbside.
Pickup of the alternative materials could be rotated every week and household waste removal charged by weight, instead of the ratepayers who recycle paying for a service for those who don’t.
Yes, these things come at a cost but somehow, local councils all over the world have managed to achieve systems of recycling that make Alice’s an embarrassment. But it’s also a state and federal issue – a subject for another time maybe.
That said, I applaud Matty for focusing on a core responsibility of Council that so desperately needs revolutionising.