In Melbourne, we have one or two opportunities a year to be rid of what we call 'hard rubbish'. It's all that big stuff that you want to get rid of, but you don't want to pay big bucks to take it to the Tip. So you hang on to it in some dim dark corner of your shed, garage or back yard and wait. In our case....for a few years! The way it works, is that the local council gives you a date for collection. Household pile up their rubbish out the front of their house in the week or so before that date, and some garbage collection organisation will eventually come along and take it all away. For free :)
There is a fascinating proceeding that goes on, between putting your junk out and having it collected by the designated agency. Aussie's, being who they are, have no problem whatsoever in stopping to have a gawk and pick up stuff they think might be worth a fix. In some areas, people put out really good stuff that they just couldn't be bothered offering to friends before putting it out! Yeah, we have no problems at all picking up that stuff. "Oh, I got that off hard rubbish" is the catch cry when friends marvel at our newest acquisitions!
The other day, we put our rubbish out. Old caravan fridge, old dishwashwer. Neither of which worked, which is why we dumped them. Old bike frames the kids have grown out of that were probably 5th hand when we got them. Dead mattresses....one of which dh had as a teen!!! The TV we just got rid of because it was no longer colour, but pink and white. Old computer bits and pieces. You get the idea.
I have been completely fascinated at the way our rubbish pile has evolved. It has taken on a life of its own! Things have been taken. Our nice neat pile has been torn apart and left hither and thither in around about the area where we'd constructed our space-efficient mound. I expected as much, really. Aussie's like freebies. The thing I didn't expect? Our pile has been somewhat scattered.....and people have added to it!!! A pram and the box from some fancy TV dh wishes we owned!
I wonder whether we'll still have a pile at all, by the time the Garbo's come to collect the stuff?
2 comments:
We live in a different council and we just have to ring them to organise a collection; we're allowed three times a year. So we have this policy with large items, we put them on the nature strip and if they're still there a few days later we ring the council. Haven't had to ring the council the last couple of times as everything's disappeared quickly.
I can't imagine a system where everyone gets to have a collection done whenever they feel like it!! It lacks the community oneness of everyone going through everyone else's stuff!
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