| posted on April 7, 2017
By GEOFF VIVIAN
UNDER a new local law people caught selling items they have picked up from Albany kerbside collections could be charged and fined up to $350.
This could include items sold on the internet or in garage sales and shops, and affect people with hobby businesses such as “shabby chic” furniture painters.
“Where waste has been deposited on a verge for a verge waste collection, a person must not remove any of that waste for a commercial purpose but may remove it for any other purpose,” the new law reads.
Samele Haell from Albany Community Environment Centre described the move as a “retrograde step”.
“I’d encourage repairers to go out there and find the stuff to reduce the amount of brand new stuff we have to buy,” he said.
“What are those repairers doing wrong if they’re selling it for a couple of bucks to some needy family who needs a kettle?”
He said the move appeared to be “knee jerk reaction” to recyclers messing up verges while they collected discarded goods.
“What we need is to come to a respectful way of doing roadside recycling,” he said.
Council approved the new regulation last week as part of the City’s new Waste Local Law 2017.
A City of Albany spokesman said it was being advertised for public comment today.
“The public consultation period will close on Friday, 26 May,” he said.
“A copy of the local law will be submitted to Department of Local Government (for comment) and Department of Environmental Regulation (for consent).” A report is then to be prepared for a council committee to consider feedback from the public and state government departments before the proposed local law is presented to council for adoption.
“If the local law is adopted, this will be gazetted and will take effect 14 days after the date of publication,” the spokesperson said.
The draft local law is a 32-page document that attempts to cover all aspects of local waste collection.
It includes items such as supply and use of rubbish bins, recycling, verge collections, householders’ duties, fines and penalties, fees and charges, and operating rules for rubbish tips and transfer stations.
Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington said the local law was modelled on similar local ones which other WA councils had enacted.
