Sick and tired of rubbish

Am I the only one who is sick and tired of seeing our lovely area drowning in rubbish?

Just one example tells the story.

Council has spent a great deal of ratepayers money renovating that lovely area around Umina Oval.

The BMX track, the newly enlarged skateboard ramp and new picnic tables etc add to the natural attraction of the area.

Many people use the area everyday and it's lovely to see so many families picnicing and enjoying themselves there on the weekends.

However, the amount of rubbish thrown around, the broken glass and beer bottles everywhere is a disgrace and spoils the enjoyment of the area for many locals.

Council cannot cope with the amount of rubbish and even though there are bins around some choose simply to throw their rubbish on the ground and leave it for someone else.

That area around the BMX track is particularly awful as it is always full of papers, bottles and other rubbish.

Council spends a lot of money cleaning up after the idiots who continue to throw rubbish around our reserves, especially our beach reserves.

I believe Council has a role to play but I also strongly believe that it is the responsibility of every single person using the reserves to take their rubbish with them and to tidy up after themselves.

Recently I watched a group of four adults and three children at a Council reserve at Woy Woy as they scattered drink cans, beer bottles, food wrappings and cigarette ends everywhere even though there was a garbage bin not four metres away from where they sat.

When I pointed the bin out to them I got a mouthful of abuse.

And this is not the only problem.

Great mounds of rubbish regularly appear on the kerbside and seem to sit there for weeks.

All it takes is one telephone call to get this removed.

Why do people automatically assume that someone else will make that call?

It is the responsibility of every householder to look after their own rubbish and I am sick of the streets being clogged with garbage.

I would welcome any constructive suggestions about how this kind of behaviour can be stopped because I believe the community wants to enjoy the area without drowning in rubbish.

Council is finally starting to spend serious money on the Peninsula and we should take pride in our area instead of making unatrractive to resident and visitor alike.

Cr Lynne Bockholt, November 28