Some Adelaide Councils commend two week rubbish collection cycle

I read with a bit if disdain that a number of local councils are looking at the idea of collecting rubbish on a fortnightly basis instead of weekly.

Apparently, the impetus is that people are using the general waste bin less and certain councils think it's fair to reduce collection because of this. Naturally, the councils also agree that rates won't decrease because of the move ... now why aren't we surprised at that result ??? Surely, the cost saving to council would be quite significant, so why not pass on that saving?

My concern is that councils are becoming less and less accountable to their householders. They want to increase rates but not give any extra benefits, or alternatively, reduce services, but not reduce rates. They want it all their way.

I have just sent an email to my local council (Port Adelaide Enfield) venting my views on this issue. A real concern is that councils will jump on the bandwagon with this as a cost saving measure, but if rates are not decreased, what benefit do we ratepayers get out of it ? Nothing .. except reduced services. Duh .. and we already suffer from reduced services anyway.

Followers of my blog will have seen my rant about the Tea Tree Gully council and their apparent lack of concern for the streetscape in their council area:

http://adelaideviews-isthisfair.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/is-tea-tree-gully-council-worst-in.html

The next council to be looked at is the City of Salisbury Council. Their council area is a damn mess, streets littered with rubbish, overgrown weeds and what appears to be a general lack of pride by the council. Anyway.. that is another story.

Apart from the issue with council, do we really want stinking bins in the heat of summer sitting around for two weeks? Do we want people to let their bins overflow and rubbish to start blowing around the street? I know there are householders that wouldn't let this happen, but in saying that, there are also householders, who couldn't give a stuff ... "Bugger it, if council doesn't collect my bin, then excess waste will fall out .. what do I care"? Is this what we want ?

In my rant about the Tea Tree Gully council, I urged all householders to get onto their councils backs and start requesting more streetscape related issues - mowing verges more often, cleaning up rubbish, removal of dead trees, and the replanting of new trees in streets. In other words - the council should start taking more pride in its streetscape. If you have nice clean streets, the householders are more likely to have nice clean front gardens. Is that not good for all of us? streets that we can be proud of?

Again, I urge householders to email, write and phone their councils and let it be known that we're not happy about the possibility of rubbish collection being reduced. And, remember to get on your councils back about overgrown verges, rubbish in streets etc. We need to make councils accountable again ... back to grass roots care of their council area. We can only benefit.

The following is a link to a website showing all the local council areas in South Australia. If you're not sure of your area, you can put in an address and it'll show the council that you are under. It also includes links to the council website, and contact details:

http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=210

Get Real