Time to take out the trash

By Jade Lawton
ALMOST 300 people have called on the City of Casey to provide more bins and ‘clean up’ litter in Berwick and Beaconsfield.
A petition complaining about the amount of rubbish in the area was investigated by council officers, who last week presented a report on waste management to the council.
Specific areas mentioned in the report include the Berwick Railway Station, gutters in Berwick and Beaconsfield roads and Beaconsfield’s public parks.
But while the council’s infrastructure services waste management staff noted there had been ‘many complaints over a long period of time’ about litter at the station, complaints are forwarded Connex to Metro, the company responsible for managing metropolitan railway stations.
“Metro Trains have recently responded advising that they have a regular maintenance and cleaning schedule that involves emptying all platform and car park bins on a daily basis as well as cleaning of all areas of the station on a daily basis. They also claim the car park area is swept every four to six weeks,” the report stated.
Council officers said residential streets were swept every six weeks, while Berwick Village was swept daily Monday to Friday.
High Street’s 14 waste bins were emptied six days a week and the contractor is required to pick up litter within three metres of each litter bin.
Berwick Village Chamber of Commerce President Harry Hutchinson said that while rubbish could be a problem on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, the chamber was generally happy with the council’s management of litter.
Complaints about litter in parks were passed on to the Cardinia Shire. The council’s waste management and litter strategies are currently being updated and residents will be able to comment on the plans in coming months.