CLEAN Up Australia Day is Sunday, March 2, but for Ashley resident and former Moree Plains Shire councillor, Michael Ivanov, it’s every day.
Mr Ivanov has for many years collected roadside rubbish on his daily commute to Moree.
But in recent weeks, his work on the Carnarvon Highway between Moree and Ashley has become harder.
Mr Ivanov, who each year organises a group of like-minded mates who spend Clean Up Australia Day helping to clean up Australia, was annoyed to find bulky rubbish dumped off the highway near Yarraman Bridge early last week.
“There was children’s playground equipment and toys, plus hundreds of metres of electric fencing line,” Mr Ivanov said.
“The total weight of this rubbish means it would have been free to drop off as domestic waste at the Moree tip.
“This is local people crapping in their own backyard, and it annoys the hell out of me.
“It never surprises what some idiots dump along the roads and everywhere else, when, in most cases, it is either free or not all that expensive to take to the tip,” Mr Ivanov said.
What is even more annoying, he says, is Moree Plains Shire Council’s biennial bulky waste collection soon gets under way across the shire.
“At different times of the year, all councils provide a bulky waste clean-up service, and Moree’s is on in March. These people only needed to wait a few weeks and Moree Plains Shire Council would’ve done the job for them . . . it beggars belief, sometime,” Mr Ivanov said.
He said the biggest roadside problem was discarded vehicle tyres.
“People get charged to drop tyres off at the tip, and I understand that because they’re so hard to get rid of, and sometimes there’s a fee when they get new tyres fitted,” Mr Ivanov said.
“We have to lift tyres onto the trailer with a hoe, just in case there’re snakes lurking about, and we already have about three or four piles of tyres stacked up between Moree and Garah,” he said.
Clean Up Australia Day, established 35 years ago by Ian Kiernan, will be held on Sunday, March 2.
Mr Kiernan, a well-known Australian yachtsman and property developer, had a simple idea that has now become the nation’s largest community-based environmental event, held annually on the first Sunday in March.
Mr Ivanov, who was awarded Moree Plains Shire Environmental Citizen of the Year in 2020, has again put his hand up to support Clean Up Australia Day.
“My group is registered again this year and we have the support of Moree Council, with staff taking our collected rubbish to the tip. Moree Plains Shire Council has always assisted us in our efforts,” Mr Ivanov said.
MPSC Bulky Waste Collections
Schedule: Bookings for collections in Moree township and surrounds, including Gurley, Gwydirville and Bendygleet, close at 5pm, Friday, March 7, with collection starting Monday, March 10.
Bookings for village collections at Ashley, Biniguy, Boggabilla, Boomi, Garah, Mungindi, Pallamallawa, Weemelah, Vitonga Road and Yarraman close at 5pm, Friday, March 14, with collection starting Monday, March 17.
Book online: All Moree Plains Shire residents can book HERE
Phone: Alternatively, residents can call the waste hotline on 1300 736719.
