People cling so vehemently to the basic services a council delivers that the moment a restriction is flagged on such a service there is a spluttering sense of outrage blind to any longer term benefit. As a basic service and certainly not a free one, people might be excused for dismay at any change to the hierarchy of rubbish collection. After all, $284 or a little more than $5 dollars a week to dispose of rubbish in Ballarat is a considerable amount for some. Others might argue it is prohibitive given the glaring deficiencies in the service.
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But one bigger issue is how much longer we can expect the charge to stay at this level. Rubbish disposal is getting more and more expensive. Landfill is filling up and the creation of new ones is more costly and demanding than ever before. Some regional shires have simply accepted the end point of waste is beyond their capability, budget and expertise and are increasingly looking at outsourcing or specialised regional centres to handle waste in larger volumes and with more efficiencies. But these too will come at a price. The demand means an industry is building around it.
Many residents would like to feel they pay the garbage fee to have it all whisked away; out of sight and out of mind. But in reality collectively we all pay the price and in a user pays world it comes rebounding back on those who need the service. Add to this cost a rate cap freeze and it is easy to see how this rubbish levy could start ratcheting up every year. So it makes sense to reduce the cost of rubbish disposal at the starting end and that means the household.
When Golden Plains first flagged fortnightly rubbish pick-ups, the anger was palpable but reports indicate its success since has been in bringing about a degree of behavioral change. Ultimately doubly the recycling capacity and halving the general landfill pickup makes sense because it reflects the value of the commodity and the cost of the resource. Add to this green waste, for those who do not have a compost enthusiasm, and some bioenergy potential and the old fashioned landfill seems to appear just that little bit obsolete.
Few types of council are bold enough to unhesitatingly go down the Golden Plains path. But education and a change in expectation could soften the blow by showing just what is possible and what may reduce cost for the user from the very start. Children at schools without a single lunch wrapper, towns without plastic bags; these were all flights of fancy once.
