The delivery of green waste bins by Noosa Council last week created plenty of Facebook chatter both for and against its introduction.
Most of the talk focused on residents’ inability to reject the green bin service if desired.
Resident Bart Jenner said he applied unsuccessfully for an exemption to the green because he has no use for it.
“I was rejected because I don’t have a gardener and my land size is over 400 square metres,” he said.
Bart said he composted everything, leaving him with no green waste.
Kathya Hirt is also a composter, never putting green waste in her bins but said she burnt some palm fronds that didn’t fit in the bin and was criticised for it by other Facebook followers.
“Burning your garden clippings is not environmentally friendly,” Jacqui Clarke said. “Better they are recycled through council as mulch.”
Some on the Noosa Community Noticeboard Facebook site said they would prefer to have a second yellow bin or a weekly yellow recycle bin collection.
Resident Bill Ridderhof praised those who composted garden and kitchen waste but questioned the requirement for a service for non-users.
“It’s so great that some people are able to compost all of their garden pruning and organic kitchen waste. The rest of us should be like you,” he said.
“Compost made correctly will not spread weeds as seeds are killed by the high temperatures that the compost reaches.
“As ratepayers we shouldn’t have to pay for a service we don’t use so let’s bring this to council’s attention and see if people who show that they use all organic waste on their property, don’t have to pay for another service.”
But Judy Barrass disagreed, saying some people have worm farms or compost bins but you have to admit for the vast majority and for the environment this is good policy.
“Should I ask council to give me a discount or something because they are overservicing? Government at all levels has to make policy for the majority not the minority,” she said.
“I don’t use bike lanes, sports fields, aquatic centres, libraries, playgrounds, hinterland roads or holiday buses. Should I get a part refund of my rates?”
However Bart Jenner feels penalised for using good environmental practices.
“Why should we not have a choice if we are doing the right thing in the first place? Is a big green plastic bin and diesel truck service better for the environment than a nice quiet productive compost bin?”
According to the Noosa Council website, residents who live in single houses and duplexes in urban areas will automatically receive a garden waste recycling bin but they are optional for commercial, industrial and other premises. Rural properties, units and properties less than 400 square metres are automaticall exempt. People who have all garden waste removed by a professional gardener for recycling may be exempt if they meet the criteria and complete an Application for Garden Waste Bin Exemption form.
The joy of touch
Can feelings of joy and happiness with a light touch to certain areas of the head?
According to organisation Access Consciousness it can.
The group describes a set of 32 points on the head as Access Bars which when lightly touched stimulate “a range of positive effects, including greater mental clarity, increased motivation, a significant increase in joy and happiness and fewer signs of anxiety and depression”.
The treatment has been supported on YouTube video by neuroscientist Jeffery Fannin who tested the neurological effects of the treatment by measuring brain waves of people before and after a Bars session and found it had “a positive neurological effect similar to that experienced by advanced meditators”.
On RUOK Day on 14 September an Access Bars facilitator Lauren Marie will hold free Bars sessions for people wanting to try out the energy treatment.
The session will be held at the Ivory Palms Resort, 73 Hilton Terrace, Noosaville, from 6.30pm-9.30pm.
For more information or to book a session visit www.accessconsciousness.com/suicideawareness
