I am feeling particularly lucky at the moment. If Dirty Harry told me he couldn't remember whether he'd fired 6 shots or only 5, I'd probably make a run for it and take my chances. There must indeed be Irish blood coursing through my veins.
The reason for my feelings of luck stem from the recent storm on Friday night. Ceals and I were off enjoying the hospitality of Mick that night, as the circle of friends gathered to celebrate the Queen's birthday. After said jocularities, we got home late at night, and went straight off to bed. The next morning, I get up and find that our 12-metre plus pine tree had decided enough was enough, and had collapsed during the storm. The lucky bit is that it missed our house by about 2 metres. The only damage is a huge gaping hole in the ground and a collapsed retaining wall.
Living in the verdant wilderness that is Berowra, I called Hornsby Shire Council to get some assistance in getting rid of the mountain of green waste that my hand saw and flagging strength produced.
I requested a kerbside pickup (as a rate-payer, I am entitled to said service a number of times a year, free of charge). Imagine my surprise when the smiling voice at the other end of the phone said that green waste (branches, leaves and such) is not included in the kerbside pickup service! Unbelievable that we live in "The Bushland Shire", and council refuse to provide basic services such as this. I went on to the Blacktown City Council site, and sure enough, they provide a maximum of 12 kerbside pickups per year free of charge to the rate payer, and green waste is included, as long as it is cut into 1.5 metre lengths and tied up in neat bundles.
I don't like Hornsby Shire Council much at the moment - they seem to be a very inefficient and useless organisation, and are much more expensive rates-wise than Blacktown, yet provide fewer services. In my new spirit of not letting these things ride, and in my new-found desire to make a difference, however small, in my community, I sent an email off to the three councillors that are responsible for my ward area.
This email will hopefully not fall on deaf ears, but hey, I am not holding my breath. Since our green bins get collected fortnightly, I am expecting to spend the next 6 months living on top of a mountain of green (well, brown after the first month).
Here are some photos of the mighty fallen. It doesn't look near as impressive with all of the side branches lopped off...
I am posting the email on my blog, because I would like to think that it may encourage others to not just sit back and complain, but instead to use that democratic voice we all have to try and effect change for the better.
Dear Sir/Madams,
I hope that this email finds you all well. I am writing in regard to the green waste services of Hornsby Shire Council, which I consider to be somewhat sub-standard. In particular, I refer to services for Ward A, as I am a Berowra Heights resident. I hope that you will be able to provide some feedback regarding this issue.
First and foremost, there is no denying that the Hornsby Shire Council area is indeed a verdant bushland shire, something to be treasured not just for its beauty but also for its role in providing valuable habitat for wildlife. Understandably, this green reputation that Hornsby Shire Council has should be protected. This council has some of the toughest tree preservation policies, making it very difficult for residents to obtain permission for the felling of trees, something that I do not necessarily consider a bad thing.
However, I feel that the support services for green waste disposal do not reflect the ocean of green in which we live. The recent advertising campaign introducing Hornsby Council's recycling mascots "The Bin Crew" are a great move in improving awareness of your services, but it left me wondering why more is not being done. I have no issue with the garbage bins - I would struggle to fill the smaller-sized red-lidded bin with refuse even if it remained uncollected for two months. Similarly, the yellow-lidded recycling bins are fine, with fortnightly collection keeping up with our environmentally aware household's recyclables.
The green-lidded bins are however a major problem for me, and for many other residents in the area. Fortnightly collection of green waste is just not often enough for as green an area as Hornsby Shire Council. I would easily be able to fill up the green bin if it were collected weekly. I would humbly request that you take this feedback on board and consider changing the fortnightly collection to a weekly collection.
Another problem that I wish to discuss is related to the recent storm that hit our area on Friday 8th June. A large 12-metre-plus pine tree toppled in our backyard, and whilst I am grateful that it missed our house (though only by a matter of metres), I find the problem of disposal of this great quantity of green waste to be problematic in the extreme. I called Hornsby Council to arrange for a kerbside pickup, only to be informed that green waste is not included as part of this service.
I find this to be extremely unusual, considering that it would take me some 3 or 4 months to dispose of the branches through the only means currently available to me - the council's green bins. I was informed that the area had not been declared a state of emergency, and as such, no additional funding was available for removal of fallen trees if said trees fall on private property.
The council area in which I grew up (Blacktown City Council) provides up to 12 household cleanups per year at no extra fee to the rate payer, and they allow green waste to be included in this cleanup. Please note the following extract from their website:
Bundle tree cuttings in manageable bundles of length up to 1.5 metres. Please bundle thorny branches such as Bougainvilleas or Roses so that thorns are not a hazard to our collection staff
Hornsby Shire Council, as well as being very green, also has the dubious honour of having one of the more expensive rates-levels in the greater Sydney area. I was naively expectant that we would be getting something more for our money.
Considering the ease with which green waste can be disposed of by large council bodies, as well as its usefulness in being processed for by-products such as mulch, I had hoped that more would be done to address this matter. It is surely in everyone's best interests to reduce the amount of dry wood and leaf waste both for the sake of bushfire hazard reduction and to reduce pest infestations.
I look forward to your reply. Thanks in advance for your consideration of this matter.
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