The Victorian Coalition’s promise to reintroduce a weekly collection of general waste bins (red-lidded), has raised a number of red flags for regional residents.

The most obvious is the cost.

The doubling of service delivery of the red bin alone could cost Rural City of Wangaratta Council an extra $4.9m per annum, a sum that has to be borne by ratepayers.

While we appreciate that for some the bi-weekly collection is a challenge, we simply can’t afford a weekly collection.

And if council has to absorb the cost it means a dramatic cut to other services.

The policy also ignores the fact of why a fortnightly collection was introduced in the first place.

The diminishing available sites for suitable landfill in regional shires was adding to the cost of collection and with no other suitable fix available, reducing general waste was the obvious solution.

As individuals and a community, we should be aiming to reduce our waste and recycle where we can, this policy sends the wrong message and sets us up for long-term failure.

Our current rate of consumption is unstainable for the planet, we only need to look at developing countries which have already been burdened with our waste.

The argument for the reintroduction of weekly red bin collection shouldn’t place personal convenience above the benefits of the broader community, and the health of our planet for future generations.

If your household is producing more waste than the current bin collection can handle, check out the Sustainabiliy Victoria website or go to https://www.energy.gov.au/households/reducing-waste.

In the meantime, this Coalition policy should go straight in the yellow bin.