Back in May 2014, we were approached by award winning building company – D.A. Burke builders to assist in the renovation/modification of a home to assist a family in Batemen affected by Rett Syndrome.

This project has now started and we are proud to be to help by providing a skip bin for the duration of the project at little cost.

What is Rett Syndrome?

Addison suffer from Rett Syndrome which is a development disorder found mainly in girls.  A child with Rett Syndrome will usually be born healthy and then a 6-18 months there is a stagnation in skills and development.  The most severe aspect of Rett Syndrome is the inability of the body to perform movement.

The current bathroom in Addison’s house is completely unsuitable for someone with a disability and a renovation is one step in making life easier for her family.  The entire bathroom renovation has been made possible by generous donations of time, goods and services.

The type of modification which will assist Addison and her family includes:

• a stepless shower base.  This shower base  will allow for easy wheelchair access as well as extra space for assistance;
• a showerseat to improve access and safety and
• grab rails for added balance and support.

All the waste from the bathroom renovation will be placed into one of our skip bins and taken away once the project is finished.

If you would like to be involved with this project please call us on 93317271 or D.A. Burke builders on 9582 9977.

We wish Addison and her family all the best for the future.

The WA State Government as part of the 2014-2015 state budget announced an increase in the Landfill Levy from 2015. The levy increase brings WA rates into line with South Australia and Victoria, while still being half of that of NSW. The rate will also continue to increase in WA to at least 2019.

The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act (WARR Levy Act) was initially introduced in 2007. This is the first increase in the levy since 2010. The landfill levy is applied to all waste received at metropolitan landfills and metropolitan waste received at landfills outside the metropolitan area.

The key purpose of the Landfill Levy is to set the price of landfill so that alternatives such as recycling are more cost competitive. Environment Minister Albert Jacob recently stated that WA had one of the worst recycling rates in Australia and making it more expensive to dump was vital to reversing this. The second objective is to generate funds for a range of environmental purposes. A quarter of the forecasted $202 miilion revenue in the next 4 years will be used to fund recycling programs.

The increase in the landfill levy has had a number of critics. One of WA’s biggest builders, Dale Alcock has stated that it would add between $1000 and $1500 onto the cost of a new house.
Although Mr Alcock agreed WA’s recycling rates needed to lift, he said the Government’s handling of the changes had been clumsy and there were “smarter” ways to reduce landfill.
“It purely is a revenue grab,” he said. “You can argue this is about changing industry and industry has to get on board and put less waste to landfill”.
“Maybe try working with industry rather than just whacking it over the head.”

The other problem that we believe will occur is an increase in illegal dumping of waste. As the prices increase to hire a skip bin or to get rid of waste, it will not be affordable for large number of people. There are already a large number of areas in the Perth region which has illegal dumped waste and this will increase. It will be left up to the local councils and shires to clean up this illegal dumping of waste.

• CHOOSE THE CORRECT SIZE  Choosing the correct size is difficult and people often underestimate the size of bin needed. A good way to estimate is by thinking of it in terms of a standard 6×4 trailer load. A 3mᶟ bin will hold about 3 to 4 trailer loads of rubbish, a 4mᶟ bin 5 to 6 trailer loads of rubbish and a 6mᶟ bin 8 to 9 trailer loads of rubbish.

• MEASURE THE AREA TO BE REMOVED  If you are removing sand, bricks, pavers etc, take a measurement of the length, width and height.  Multiply all these together and it will give you a mᶟ measurement.  Particularly with bricks and pavers you need to account for the air space between the bricks and pavers – so we would recommend going the next  bin size up.

•  PUT ALL THE ITEMS TO BE REMOVED IN A PILE  By doing this, it will give an indication of what size bin that you will need.  The “Bin Sizes” tab on the website has pictures and measurements of all the bins as a guide to help you.

• GREEN WASTE If you are putting green waste (tree trimmings, prunings, branches etc) into a bin we recommend that you saw into smaller pieces. This allows you to put more into the bin.

• GETTING RID OF FURNITURE OR KITCHEN CABINETS?  A lot of furniture and cabinetry these days is made up of chip board and other types of cheaper wood to keep the cost down when purchasing something new.  It is often easy to break down into smaller pieces by pulling it apart or using a saw or axe.  By doing this you are saving a lot of space and more can be added into the skip bin.