CORONAVIRUS MEANS RAIDERS ON NO LARK

The humble household kerbside recycling bin is now fair game for more and more people struggling to make ends meet as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

IT’S a sign of the times when our trash has become something to treasure.

Waking the dog early on a drizzly Thursday morning, I noticed an older woman ahead of me, clad in a dark raincoat and carrying a large black rubbish bag.

We smiled at one another, commented on the depressing weather, and she then commenced digging through a neighbour’s kerbside recycling bin. Seeing the surprise on my face, she quickly explained: “I lost my job and can’t afford my rent but I don’t want to let my landlord down. I just collect the recyclables so that I can pay him.”

As the rain drenched my dog, I stood on this suburban street wondering how this was happening in our city.

The woman, I never asked her name but I’ll call her Sandy, says she’s part of a growing group of Gold Coasters who have turned to raiding bins in order to make ends meet. It’s not pretty, but poverty never is.

Sandy lives in Southport and now that she is without work, she travels across the Coast in accordance with the city’s rubbish collection schedule. Every second Thursday is recycling bin day in Mermaid, thus her appearance in my street.

“I walk up to 21km every day, I park nearby and put the bag in the car once it’s full,” she told me.

“I was working as a cleaner for holiday homes but all that business is gone and I’m not eligible for JobKeeper. I figure if I’m making enough money by doing this, I’m not being a drain on anyone else. It makes me feel like I’m still earning my keep.”

At 10c per recyclable, that’s an awful lot of bottles and cans to add up to her $390 per week rent.

I told her my address and welcomed her to the contents of my bin (pity that wine bottles don’t earn cash). But I do worry about her safety, especially since I’m sure not every resident would listen to her story with sympathy.

Indeed, a quick internet search shows numerous stories attacking so-called “bin raiders” and blaming programs like Queensland’s Containers for Change and NSW Return and Earn.

“We were never a massive supporter of the scheme because we always thought it would undermine kerbside recycling,” said Tony Khoury, from the NSW Waste Contractors and Recyclers Association.

“These guys are unlikely to have had their hepatitis shots or their tetanus shots. They’re probably not using protective equipment like gloves.

“There really is a need for the government to come down really strongly on this matter.

“Ban the bin raiders from undertaking this really most undesirable activity.”

As for the legality, it’s not clean-cut. The contents of someone’s bin are the legal possession of the property owner when on private land and of council when on the kerbside for collection.

And it’s morally murky as well. When the raider is someone simply trying to