Australia’s escalating fuel crisis has just hit a terrifying new benchmark, with one Aussie council among the first in the country to cancel bin collection services.
Starting Monday, the Upper Lachlan Shire Council in New South Wales’ Southern Tablelands will ceased all kerbside green bin collections, in a drastic measure to conserve dwindling diesel reserves.
It means households will be forced to discard of their own green waste as needed, which they can do so for free at the local tip.
Mayor Paul Culhane confirmed the council possesses only a two-week diesel reserve, essential for vital services like road grading and general household (red bin) waste collection.
“It’s easy to be popular and just leave services as they are, but we just think we need to make some hard decisions,” he said.
“If this crisis gets any worse, we’ll still have diesel to help us run our absolutely essential waste collection and grading services.”
Upper Lachlan Shire Council has announced it will scrap green bin collections to preserve fuel.
The council, serving over 8,500 residents across a large rural area, conducts approximately 1000 green waste collections monthly, compared to 8,000 red bin collections.
Mayor Culhane’s primary concern is a missed fortnightly fuel delivery, which would jeopardise the red bin service – a “really big problem.”
The decision has drawn criticism from residents, with one noting the irony of conserving council fuel by forcing ratepayers to use their own.
Around 8500 residents will be impacted by the decision.
“How many people in our town are then going to use fuel to get to the tip? To me, you’re just putting that cost back on the ratepayer,” one local told the ABC.
A local nursery owner also expressed disappointment, citing the added burden on her business to manage significant green waste.
While Upper Lachlan has cut a service, other councils are proposing significant fee increases. Northern Beaches Council has flagged an additional $53 charge, with $40 directly attributed to higher diesel costs.
Camden Council is considering a 35 per cent increase, and Hornsby may propose a 10 per cent hike.
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