The inorganic rubbish collection needs to stop. Now. The concept is outdated, illogical and sends out a disastrous message that flies in the face of responsible, sustainable living.
Large piles of unwanted whiteware, old stereos, beds, mattresses, busted up furniture, kitchen sinks and other odds and ends literally litter the streets in my neighbourhood, right now.
I cannot believe that all this junk is now going to get picked up and thrown in a landfill to possibly biodegrade over the next few ten thousand years or so – at no cost to the person throwing it out there on the street.
Surely it’s widely accepted that we now live in an age where if we create waste then we have to pay for the disposal of that waste. Let’s face it, getting stung in the pocket is the only way we poorly evolved humans seem to find the collective will to change our behaviour.
At the same time as I get in a stir over one of Auckland’s largest city councils throwing thousands of tonnes of waste into a landfill, the New Zealand Government is introducing ETS (albeit a watered down version to the point of being utterly ineffective).
If we are to change our ways and start making a difference then the messages and actions must be aligned. Change is also most powerful when it comes from the bottom up.
Manukau City Council is so far out of whack here that it’s not funny. The huge sum of (our) money that will have veen paid by the council to some contractor to pick up the mess and put it in a hole in the ground should have been spent on an environmental initiative.
What a disgrace. What a waste.
