AS Kiama Downs continues to trial the GO Organics program in an effort to cut down the amount of waste sent to landfill, the Kiama Independent approached two residents about their thoughts so far.
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Wayne Hogan wants to see the new system stay as it is, while Leesa Mak is a little more unsure.
It's excellent:
Wayne Hogan truly has the new system down pat.
He has cut down his red bin waste by half, layers mulch between food scraps to manage odours in the green organics bin and enlists the help of his chooks when composting.
"It's been really good," he said. "A lot of the stuff that was being put in landfill now goes in the organics bin, and we've identified a few things like yoghurt containers we were putting in landfill that can be put in the recycling bin.
"I think the next challenge will be changing the way things are packaged . . . We've become too much of a disposable society."
Currently, the organics bin is collected weekly, but from May, it will be fortnightly.
Mr Hogan said a fortnightly organics collection concerned him because between himself, his wife, their 22-year-old son and a thriving garden, he was already filling it to the top on a weekly basis.
"It would be a real issue for us and I think the council would lose support for the process if they did that," he said.
He said fortnightly collections would only work in the middle of winter when grass grew slower.
It smells:
Catering for a 15-month-old in nappies has made the trial less pleasant for Leesa Mak.
Ms Mak was excited to take part in the trial when it was first announced and has had no troubles disposing of food scraps, recycling and general waste correctly.
But her son, Declan, using about 100 nappies a fortnight has taken its toll, particularly during the summer months.
"They smell bad enough when they're fresh, let alone after two weeks sitting in the bin," she said.
"We've got another year on those."
The smell has also caused an increased ant and cockroach presence, forcing Mrs Mak to move the bins to the opposite side of the house to divert the trail of ants marching across her front porch.
She considered cloth nappies but thought they were too time consuming.
"It's just not practical and you've got to take into account the extra washing and water consumption," she said.
Ms Mak is not part of the sample receiving deodoriser and said hosing out the bin after collection had limited effect.
"It's all about the environment, so I'd probably stick with [the system] we've got and keep moving the bins around, but [from an amenity perspective], probably the old system was better," she said.
Like Mr Hogan, she was also concerned about a fortnightly organics collection, saying both bins should be collected weekly.
