BendigoWeekly Bendigo www.bendigoweekly.com.au
ISSUE 732 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2011
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Borough residents object Page 3
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Celebrating freedom Page 11
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Kristi stays Page 44
Small bin plan fails to improve landfill figures
Abbott flies the Coalition flag
JUNK CITY
FEDERAL Opposition leader Tony Abbott slipped into Bendigo yesterday to head up a community forum at the Capital Theatre. After fielding questions from the public, he told the Bendigo Weekly there were no big promises on the horizon for Bendigo before the next federal election.
STORY Page 5
By ANTHONY RADFORD
THE introduction of smaller household bins has failed to reduce the amount of rubbish Bendigonians are putting out for collection. The City of Greater Bendigo council introduced a 140-litre bin option for locals in 2008, as an alternative to the 240-litre bin. More than half the city has taken up the new bins, saving an average of almost $80 a year on their rates. The smaller bins were introduced in an attempt to reduce the amount of household rubbish going to council’s Eaglehawk tip. However, a Bendigo Weekly analysis of council’s rubbish and recycling figures shows an increase, rather than a decrease, in the average amount of waste going to the tip, casting doubt over the legitimacy of the plan. In the 2007-08 financial year, the year before the smaller bins were introduced, each Bendigo household put an average of 640 kilograms in their kerbside bin. That number rose to 660 kg last financial year, despite 25,000 of the city’s 42,739 homes having the smaller bin. In effect, those with the 240-litre bin have been subsidising the rest by paying much higher fees. In the current financial year, those with a large bin will pay $196.50, compared to $115 for the 140-litre bin. Council chief executive officer Craig Niemann acknowledged the results were not what the organisation
HAVING HIS SAY: Tony Abbott in Bendigo yesterday. Photo: ANDREW PERRYMAN. More photos at www.bendigophotos.com
CONCERNED: Craig Niemann says the council needs to change its message. wanted. “We would have liked the number of tonnes to go backwards since we introduced the bins,” he said. Mr Niemann said council needed to change its message. “The results show there hasn’t been big change and we still have work to do to encourage everyone to recycle as much as we can.” Recycling figures over the same period show an increase in the amount being saved from landfill, but, according to Mr Niemann, not enough. In 2007-08, each household in Bendigo recycled 240 kilograms. Last financial year it was 263kg. “It has had some impact, but it has been minimal,” he said.
COUNCIL STATS Pages 8 and 9
Someone’s letting us into their new GJ Gardner better built home. This weekend only. See page 15 for details. 5 King St Bendigo www.gjgardner.com.au
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