Hobsons Bay council tells residents to drop off excess rubbish at tip
Despite strict social distancing and stay-at-home rules, a council in Melbourne’s west has told locals they’ll need to pack their excess rubbish in the car and drop it off at the tip.
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Residents in Melbourne’s west are up in arms after being told to drop excess household rubbish off at an Altona depot on Saturday.
Hobsons Bay council recently went to fortnightly collection for general waste but because so many people are now at home, the bins have been filling up quicker.
But rather than reverting to weekly collections, the council told households to ferry their overflowing rubbish to the operations centre in Sugar Gum Drive.
Residents said the council move flies in the face of government advice to stay home.
Resident Kim Herriman described the council move as a “ridiculous and dangerous idea’’.
“How about you switch to weekly collections for a bit?” she said.
“A partially empty bin weekly is better than an overflowing one fortnightly.’’
In a statement the council said the drop-off station would not accept mixed recycling, food and garden waste, hard waste or electronic waste.
“Strict social distancing measures will be in place, in line with state and federal government requirements and clear, easy to follow instructions will be provided by staff on site,” the statement reads.
“Residents will not need to touch anything, they will only need to drop their tied, secured rubbish bags (bags cannot be open or overflowing) into a garbage disposal bay.’’
Hobsons Bay covers the suburbs of Altona, Altona Meadows, Altona North, Newport and Williamstown.
The council in February went to a four-bin collection, a system that the state government said it would adopt and roll out to other councils in coming years.
FULL STATEMENT FROM HOBSONS BAY COUNCIL TO THE HERALD SUN:
In the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, with high numbers of people at home, Hobsons Bay City Council has established an interim weekly excess rubbish drop-off service at the Operations Centre commencing this Saturday.
In these exceptional circumstances, Council recognises that some households may generate higher volumes of household waste. The drop-off service will support Hobsons Bay residents to dispose of their additional volumes of rubbish at no charge.
Council confirmed with the state government that, for now, council waste drop-offs (including the Hobsons Bay interim drop-off) and kerbside collections are both considered an essential service according to Victoria’s Chief Medical Officer’s recommendations and state government guidelines. Strict social distancing guidelines would need to be adhered to, and conditions may change if further lock down measures are introduced.
The interim waste drop-off will be contactless, utilising a drive through system where only one resident will be allowed out of the car at any one time to dispose of bagged general rubbish into a garbage disposal bay. There will be one staff member supervising and another directing traffic outside the centre. Social distancing requirements will be adhered to at all times.
The interim waste drop-offs, with state government guidance, are an immediate measure Council can put in place to support households that may generate higher volumes of household waste due to working from home or self-isolating. If residents can hold onto their waste and dispose in the kerbside collection, we would certainly encourage them to do so. Further interim options are also in progress and will be announced when they are confirmed.
The interim waste drop-offs will be offered on Saturdays between 8.30am and 2.30pm (until further notice) at Council’s Operation Centre in Sugar Gum Drive, Altona.
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