This is unacceptable! Every day of the week there is rubbish everywhere - commercial, retail, food and domestic - overflowing rubbish bins everywhere. The Council Environmental Compliance Officer comes and takes notes but offers no resolution to this ongoing problem. Businesses are required to use their ‘bin rooms’ to store their rubbish bins, but not on collection day, which varies depending on the contractor. There are no public place bins, so take away food outlet patrons sneak their rubbish into the bins left waiting for private contractor collection, invariably not bothering to separate their rubbish and contaminating the paper bins with food waste. Takeaway containers etc are left on the tables in the fenced area, patrons expecting others to clean up after them.

We are all familiar with the problem, so what is the solution?

NBC has been receiving complaints about the rubbish situation in Market Lane for years! How can it still not be resolved? New businesses open and are told they must have a ‘waste management plan’ but it seems none of these plans are effective or even followed. Council regularly consults with the public and other stakeholders such as the Manly Chamber of Commerce, including several business owners in the area, again no resolution - just tidier rubbish bins for a short while. The NBC has many expert staff including Place Planners, Planners who set the DCP rules, several Waste Educators, Sustainability experts, Environmental Compliance Officers, Rangers and senior Managers, not to mention the five or so waste contractors operating in the area and still no solution.

Business as usual and everyone hopes the problem will go away.

And now with a DA in for the central area to be fenced off permanently as an outdoor venue the rubbish problem seems even more intractable.

Solution:

1. Install a public place bin in Market Lane.
2. Ban single use takeaway items in the area. All food outlets should have washing up facilities as well as a bin room as part of their DA approval. Takeaway means takeaway and should not be consumed in the area at the tables provided. This would reduce waste.
3. Council finds a location in the vicinity for ALL the bins, domestic and commercial, and then charges a management fee for use of the bins and removal of the waste at the same time banning bins other than a public place bin in the area. And maybe some innovative waste management ideas can be considered to deal with all the rubbish.

Maybe a grant from the EPA where the Waste Levy ratepayers are charged each year goes back to Councils for redistribution for such projects.