How the Council is Helping to Keep Public Spaces Clean

If you’re like us, you know the importance of keeping the environment healthy. Concern for the environment is on the rise and more and more people are starting to recognise that we all need to do our bit to ensure the planet’s well-being for future generations. This not only means reducing our impact on the environment and trying to keep our carbon footprint to a minimum, but also helping to keep public spaces clean. 

Let’s look at a few of the things communities have been doing to help ensure that this happens.

More Rubbish Bins

You’ll notice that there are more rubbish bins than ever before in the street, in parks and in other public places. It stands to reason that this encourages people to use rubbish bins; people are rarely littering on purpose and will generally put rubbish were it belongs if there is a bin nearby. Nowadays, it’s also about having the public sort their waste according to bins for glass, paper and cardboard and food waste. More bins have cigarette trays as well, which can encourage smokers to bin their butts.

Hiring Ample Cleaning Staff

Cleanliness breeds cleanliness; if people see that a park is sparkling clean, for instance, they’re less likely to litter themselves. That why it’s been important for these areas to be properly staff by cleaners and council workers. Keeping a clean public space increases the likelihood that it will remain clean. Festivals organisers, for instance, will always invest in grounds staff to take care of the litter problem, which they know is inevitable.

Prohibiting of Alcohol and Smoking

Part of the reason that alcohol is prohibited in some parks and on the streets is the litter problem. People loitering around these areas drinking are much more likely to litter than if they were doing so in the comfort of their homes or at a licensed venue. Of course, this is not the case for all parks, and often these rules won’t be enforced unless it’s taken to excessive lengths.

There are also rules against smoking in some parks and certain public places, again lessening the impact of cigarette butts in these areas. Studies show that 50% of littered items are cigarette butts, which is a staggering proportion. As time goes on, laws that encourage people to do most of their smoking at home may help to reduce this figure.

Fining Litterers

Unfortunately, it’s inevitable that people will litter and it can be difficult to spot them.

Ensuring that there are strict fines in place can act as a deterrent and reduce the amount of littering in the community. It’s also important that people are aware that there are fines, so having signs around reminding people has been important too. In one sense, littering like speeding on the roads, which can be lessened, but never fully stamped out, by putting fines in place.

These are just a few of the ways councils have been trying to tackle the littering problem to ensure public places stay clean. Community awareness is also very important in order to lessen our impact on the environment and the cost not only to the planet, but to us as well. If you’re looking for more information about waste management and bin hire in Dandenong and surrounding suburbs, speak to the team at Metro Bin Hire today.

What Are the Best Waste Removal Options?

Waste removal and management is something we all take an active part in at some level, whether it be individually or professionally. The fact is, this is a very important part of society and the way we manage waste removal can determine the well-being of future generations. 

This being the case, it can be helpful to examine our waste removal habits and always look at new, more efficient ways to go about it. Let’s look at some of the common methods and learn a little about them.

Composting and self-recycling

This is a form of waste removal and disposal that sits firmly with the individual. Just about anyone can compost; all you need is compost bin and a garden or plants to spread it onto once it’s properly decomposed. 

Not only is this terrific for your garden, but it can reduce the load on tips and in landfill considerably. You can also recycle other everyday items that have other uses for you around the home, including everything from plastic bottles to books and shredded paper.

Roadside collections

Everyone is familiar with the roadside collection, the most basic and one of the most important methods. Provided by councils to the home, the waste is taken to tips and often put into landfill or incinerated if it cannot be recycled. It’s important to fill rubbish bins correctly according to the category of waste (whether it is a green waste, recyclable or general) as this make the process more efficient for everybody. In Victoria, there are times during the year when you can dispose of greater quantities of waste and junk items. Check with your local council for more information.

Skip bin hire

Hiring a skip bin is a good option when you have a large quantity of waste that needs to be disposed of quickly. In these case, regular roadside collections aren’t really viable. It could be that you’re doing a lot of gardening, remodelling or building or moving house. Whatever the reason, most skip bin companies are to deal with any kind of waste - excluding that of a chemical variety (though it would be only in usual cases that you would be dealing with this at your home). There are waste removal providers that will come in and physically fill the skip for you if you don’t want to get your hands dirty, but keep in mind they can be rather expensive.

Generally, waste is taken to a recycling yard where it is sorted and either recycled or disposed of accordingly. However, this may not be true of all providers. When selecting a skip bin hire company, look for one that has a good reputation and upholds environmentally friendly practices if you can.

If you’re looking for more information on waste disposal or skip bin hire in your area, contact the team at Metro Bin Hire. We provide a range of skip hire and waste removal services and always do our bit for the environment.

How to Get the Best Value When Hiring Bin Service

There is a multitude of reasons why you might need to book a skip bin, whether for your home or business. You might be planning a clean-up at home, you may be renovating or you might just have a lot of junk around that you want to get rid of. Thinking about why you require this kind of service and how you intend to use it is quite important if you want to get the most out of it. Let’s take a look at some things you should think about beforehand to make the overall process easy and more efficient.

Figure Out What You’ll be Loading the Skip Bin with

Most rubbish bins hire companies can deal with nearly any kind of waste including building materials, brick, metals, concrete, glass, green waste and other recyclable materials. However, it always pays to let your provider know exactly what you’re dealing with just to be on the same side. Most skip bins hire companies to recycle the majority of materials that will end up in your skip, with a small proportion going to landfill. However, there are materials that they can’t be dealt with - for example, chemical waste, asbestos, etc. So always be wary of these kinds of materials.

Establish How Much Waste You Need to Dispose of

A big part of the process is having some grasp of what size of skip bin you need for the job at hand. If you haven’t used a skip bin in the past, you may be better off speaking to your provider rather than winging it. A lot of the time your provider will be able to give you some kind of suggestion for what size skip bin best suits your needs. Otherwise, you’ll probably want to go one size too big rather than one size too small, so keep that in mind.

Find a Good Local Skip Bins Provider

The quality of skip bin companies even here in Melbourne can differ tremendously depending on who you go with. Generally, you’ll want to choose someone that has a good reputation in the area, supports the environment and is dependable. Timely delivery and pickup are very important when you’re probably on a schedule yourself for rubbish removal, so do your research and choose the reliable and cheap skip bins carefully.

Expert tips: How to choose the right skip hire service

Consider Sorting Through Your Waste Beforehand

It is simply not safe to overload skip bins so aim higher if anything needed. You may even find that sorting through your waste and taking out some of the recyclable items saves you space in your skip bin and thus money.

Be Prepared to Get Your Hands Dirty!

This goes without saying but waste disposal or rubbish removal is generally pretty messy, no matter what materials you’re dealing with. It’s best to wear old clothes and possibly gloves to protect your hands. If you have a couple of extra hands to share the load that can be a big help too!

5 Tips To Keep Your Garden, And The Environment, Healthy

Many Australians are passionate about gardening and it’s not difficult to see why. We are blessed with some of the world’s most amazing native plant life and given our low population, we are lucky enough to be able to keep quiet large gardens.

Gardening tips are a dime a dozen and there’s lots of advice out there on how to get your garden looking magnificent. Part of this is dealing with organic or green waste. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at ways it can best be reduced, recycled and reused, as well as other helpful gardening tips that help out the environment too.

1. Be aware of the negative aspects of organic waste

You might not be aware just how damaging it can be to the environment when organic waste is thrown into a landfill. More than 50% of this is an everyday home waste like the garden waste, food scraps and the like. Research suggests that it creates ‘landfill gas’ when put in the ground, a dangerous concoction that is 55% methane and contributes to the greenhouse effect. While some of this gas is collected and used by landfill operators, the majority is not.

As homeowners, it is worth taking steps to finding other ways of dealing with this waste.

2. Make an effort to compost

For avid gardeners, composting is a no brainer. Even if you have a small garden or a few plants, it’s still well worth it. All it takes is an effort on your part to collect food scraps and garden waste together, add some soil and keep it moist.  The upside of composting is that within a few weeks you have yourself a nutrient-rich soil that essentially acts as a fertiliser and can help you grow plants in your garden.

But given the above, taking the time to collect your organic waste and turn it into compost provides a benefit to more than just your garden. Disposing of it in this way means it does not end up in a landfill, so it’s a win-win!

3. Deal with weeds appropriately

Weeds are the bane of the gardener’s existence; they spread very quickly and are, in most cases, unsightly. It is estimated that de-weeding activities cost the Australia agriculture industry around $1.5 billion yearly.

But they have a negative impact on the environment too. Weeds compete with many forms of plant-life, threatening their survival considerably. They take up the space, sunlight and nutrients in the soil that would be used by other plants, reducing the natural diversity that makes Australian flora so wonderful.

So if you come across a weed in your garden, take the time to remove it, have it sit in the sun to dry out and mulch it if possible.

Read more: Key features of eco-friendly homes at Neutrino Burst blog.

4. Avoid dumping

When it comes to other forms of waste, it is basic common sense that dumping is not the done thing. With organic waste, however, it doesn’t seem a big deal to go through the odd bunch of garden scraps on the lawn.

In actual fact, this is one of the ways weeds are spread and start growing in bushlands and even urban areas - generally, they have escaped from gardens just like yours. Avoid doing so if you can and always dispose of this waste responsibly.

5. Take time to maintain

Weeds will naturally thrive if you don’t make the effort to stomp them out, but once your weed-free you still have work to do. You need to keep an eye on weeded areas and apply dense mulch around the garden as much as you can.

If you’re planning on shaping up the garden this summer, keep these tips handy and consider hiring a skip bin if the waste is too much to deal with! Metropolitan Bin Hire always dispose of garden waste responsibly and with the best interests of the environment in mind.