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"Cut this rubbish out": Channel 7's fresh "news" segment slammed

<p>Channel 7's major bulletin shake up has not been well received by some viewers. </p> <p>On Friday night, they kicked off their new comedy segment with Mark Humphries, whose satirical humour was intended to be used to "cut through political spin and translate current affairs in the universal news language of taking the piss” according to appointed news director Anthony De Ceglie. </p> <p>Humphries’ three minutes comedy segment premiered under the banner <em>The 6.57pm News</em>, and was made to look like a continuation of the news. </p> <p>That night, they were discussing US President Joe Biden's press conference which aired earlier in the day. </p> <p>“His press conference was delayed for over an hour, presumably because the President was running late … or more likely waddling late,” Humphries said in the segment. </p> <p>“Biden who is 81 – but doesn’t look a day over 90 – spoke smoothly on a variety of issues and allayed voters fears about his age … is what I wish I could tell you.</p> <p>“Instead, this happened …”</p> <p>He then played a clip of Biden confusing  Kamala Harries with Donald Trump, followed by another clip of him whispering on the lectern. </p> <p>“Very reassuring and not weird at all,” the comic said.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C9TGVSTTozZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C9TGVSTTozZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Mark Humphries (@humphriesmark)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Humphries then tried to make a joke out of it saying that Biden was suffering from a condition called “that guy old” with symptoms including confusing names, long pauses, “and keeping your mouth just that little bit open with that slightly disappointed look like Bunnings just told you the sausage sizzle is closed”.</p> <p> “But if you think that’s bad, wait till you find out the condition the other candidate has ‘that guy convicted felon’,” he concluded. </p> <p>While some Channel 7 viewers "loved" it and thought it was “better than <em>The Project</em>,” a few others were less impressed. </p> <p>“This was an appalling segment … hire, rather than sack, journos,” read one comment on social media. </p> <p>“It was a deplorable segment that has no place in a news bulletin,” another added. </p> <p>"It was absolutely ridiculous. I hope channel 7 cut this rubbish out," wrote a third. </p> <p>"This was cringe," another said. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

TV

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“Is this illegal?”: Mum sparks debate over divisive rubbish bin tactic

<p>A mother has reignited an age-old debate over neighbourhood etiquette, asking whether it is "illegal or frowned upon” to add rubbish to a neighbour’s wheelie bin if yours is completely full.</p> <p>Brooke Bliss, who lives on the NSW Mid North Coast, said that in her area bins were only collected once a fortnight and her outside bins fill up very quickly as a family of five. </p> <p>Often left with overflowing rubbish by the time collection day rolls around, Bliss admitted that she waits till the "dead of night" on the day before the bins are emptied and tosses a couple of bags of general waste into neighbours' bins.</p> <p>“Is this illegal or frowned upon?” the creator asked her followers in a video online.</p> <p>The mother-of-three explained to <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/mum-sparks-debate-over-widespread-rubbish-bin-tactic-everyone-does---but-is-it-illegal-004710089.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Yahoo News Australia</em></a>, “It’s actually super stressful, especially when you have young children… the bins fill up quite quickly.”</p> <p>“I find that my bin is full maybe like the fourth day after it’s just been collected and there’s still another eight or so days to go.”</p> <p>She added that she had “the most lovely neighbours” who would never have an issue with it, but she’d heard of other people being told not to do that by other residents.</p> <p>“I mean, if your neighbours aren’t letting you do that even if they have room in their bin, you then have the rubbish lying around your property because you have nowhere else to put it," Bliss added.</p> <p>Many fellow Aussies commenting on her video said they also sneak rubbish into their neighbours' bins and that once they were on the kerb they were fair game, with one adding, "as long as you're not putting rubbish in recycling or garden waste".</p> <p>“Both our neighbours know we do this to them,” one wrote, while another said, “I do it in broad daylight.” With a third adding, "everyone does this".</p> <p>While there are technically no laws against using your neighbours' bin, trespassing could be an issue unless you wait until the bin is on council land. </p> <p>A spokesman for Bliss's local council said that the move is generally frowned upon unless there is an agreement among neighbours.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram / Shutterstock</em></p>

Legal

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“I couldn’t believe it": Man's incredible find in client's trash

<p>A rubbish removalist’s tendency to upcycle and recycle his clients' trash has led him to a rare discovery. </p> <p>Jesse Stewart, from Brisbane's Get It Gone Rubbish Removal, recalled the moment he was getting rid of an entertainment unit at the tip, when he found a mistakenly discarded medicine bottle with a wad of cash inside. </p> <p>“I didn’t think too much of it but when I picked it up it was heavy, and I was like, ‘I wonder what’s in there’,“ he told <em>7News</em>. </p> <p>Stewart “couldn’t believe” his luck when he found out the wad of notes amounted to $7000. </p> <p>“I’ve never found anything like that before," he said. </p> <p>But being the good samaritan that he was, Stewart returned the money to its rightful owner, a woman in her 60s and his long-time client. </p> <p>“She was so grateful. She couldn’t believe it,” he said, adding that she did not even realise she had the cash stashed away. </p> <p>“She didn’t think anyone would be that nice to give it back, so she gave me a few hundred bucks, which was nice," he said, revealing that she gave him a $300 unsolicited reward. </p> <p>While he did return the money back to its rightful owner, Stewart shared that he did think about keeping it. </p> <p>“To be honest, my first thought was to keep it,” he laughed.</p> <p>“The person who owned it has treated me really well over the last year of working for her ... I just felt too guilty, I could not keep it.”</p> <p>This is not the Brisbane local's first interesting find, as his tendency to upcycle trash has led to a trove of treasures including <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">a haul of rare Australian stamps, an electric scooter and an antique piano.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">But, the cash definitely </span>“took the cake”. </p> <p>“I don’t think I’ll find something like that again,” he said.</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

Money & Banking

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"Heartbreaking" issue set to engulf Bali

<p>A viral video has shown the devastating side of tourism in Bali, with mountains of garbage taking over the popular holiday destination. </p> <p>Gary Bencheghib, a French filmmaker living in Indonesia, captured a heartbreaking video of a massive “open rubbish dump” 50 metres high covered in trash.</p> <p>He said it is one of many open dumps around Bali, which are overflowing with waste. </p> <p>“I’ve just made it here, right at the foot of this giant open landfill. It’s so high we can’t even see the top and it falls right into the river,” he said.</p> <p>Gary’s post has attracted hundreds of comments from shocked users who described the state of the site as “depressing”. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvH6Sw2t09U/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvH6Sw2t09U/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Gary Bencheghib (@garybencheghib)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“My️ [heart] brakes by seeing this … such a beautiful country! They need education and see this. How can I help???” one person asked</p> <p>“Totally heartbreaking,” said another.</p> <p>A third person wrote, “As we love Bali so much, things like this need to be addressed also by the local community and local government hand-in-hand.”</p> <p>In an attempt to combat the ever-growing rubbish problem, that Indonesian officials have said will cost $40 million to fully resolve, a new tourism tax has been implemented. </p> <p>In July, Bali Governor Wayan Koster confirmed as of next year tourists will need to pay 150,000 Indonesian rupiah (about $15) to enter the popular island.</p> <p>He said the funds would be used for “the environment, culture and [to] build better quality infrastructure”.</p> <p>Indonesia’s co-ordinating minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, suggested to have the money spent on addressing Bali’s waste problem.</p> <p>"I think it [tourism tax] is good for Bali; why not use it to look after its waste,” he told reporters last week after signing a new conservation agreement at the Bali Turtle Special Economic Zone.</p> <p>“Garbage must be cleaned; now there is a smell. I spoke to the mayor of Denpasar to fix it but don’t use it as a political issue, it’s not good just fix it and reduce the smell.”</p> <p>He explained that if it continues without “significant and rapid improvement” the problem will become “uncontrollable”,<em> <a title="thebalisun.com" href="https://thebalisun.com/minister-says-new-tourism-tax-in-bali-should-be-used-to-tackle-islands-waste-problem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Bali Sun</a></em> reported.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Artist puts the lid on rubbish rental prices

<p>In the age of soaring interest rates and a global housing crisis, one young man in the United Kingdom had a wheelie good idea for getting a roof over his head.</p> <p>His solution? Skipping the queues, and moving into a bin.</p> <p>British artist and architect Harrison Marshall was down in the dumpsters when he decided to seize the opportunity, to both raise awareness about those being forced from their homes due to extortionate rent prices in London - and give himself somewhere to stay in the process - by converting an old skip into a tiny home. </p> <p>The Skip House boasts a whole range of features that one might not expect to find in a place so small - 25 square metres, in fact - with the likes of insulted timber framing, a barrel roof capable of fitting a bed, a kitchen hob - the whole set up including a sink, a stove, and a tiny fridge - as well as a wardrobe. </p> <p>And although it took a month since Marshall moved himself in, the skip was eventually connected to the grid, allowing him to warm his tiny property. The home doesn’t have its own flushing toilet or even a shower, but it doesn’t phase Marshall, who makes use of such amenities at work or at the gym. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Co22dZwoxaQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Co22dZwoxaQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by SKIP House (@theskiphouse)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“With the cost of living at an all time high, and no end in sight, this project is about living for less,” Marshall said of the project on the Skip House’s Instagram, “in one of the most expensive cities in the world, London.</p> <p>“People across the country are changing the way they live to compensate for the rising cost of basic necessities,” he continued. “Living in a skip isn’t the solution, but rather an exploration and a statement.”</p> <p>As Marshall, who now pays approximately $90 a week in rent, told <em>Southwark News</em>, “it seems crazy that people work in the city and can’t afford to live here. Or [that] people who have lived here their whole lives can’t afford to stay here, so they’re having to move out.”</p> <p>He explained that constructing the tiny home was “the only way” for him to continue to live there, and that he hoped to spark a conversation around housing, particularly when it came to unused urban wasteland spots, and how more creative solutions had to be out there. </p> <p>“It also gave quite a good juxtaposition between what you don’t typically think of as a house and almost the polar opposite of that, which is a bin or dumpster,” Marshall told <em>Business Insider</em>, “and how actually that could be turned into something which is relatively cosy and homely.”</p> <p>And as for what his neighbours think about his unusual housing venture, he told<em> Southwark News </em>that he had between 20 and 25 of them show up to his skip-warming, “they’re all super supportive.</p> <p>“People have even seen me doing stuff in the garden and gone to get their tools and come to help out and people around have filled up my hot water bottle.”</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Real Estate

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A clever trick to make your rubbish smell nice (and 11 other handy home hints)

<p>You’ll wonder how you ever got along without knowing these sneaky home cleaning tricks.</p> <p>1. Throw lemon, lime or orange peels into your garbage disposal to clean the drain and give your kitchen a lovely fresh scent.</p> <p>2. Clean your silver quickly by lining your sink with foil, and then add half a cup salt and half a cup baking soda. Fill the sink with hot water and place your silverware inside for 30 minutes. The tarnish will transfer to the foil saving you loads of time as you won’t need to clean each piece separately.</p> <p>3. Use an old dryer sheet to polish and metal in your car. It will give much better shine than a regular cloth.</p> <p>4. To clean your cutting board, slice a lemon in half and rub it all over a plastic or wooden board. Leave to work its magic for 20 minutes before washing it.</p> <p>5. Clean the ceiling fan by sliding a pillowcase over each blade, then pull it off gently to collect the dust.</p> <p>6. If you have a grease stain on clothing, rub some chalk over it before washing to help get rid of the marks. </p> <p>7. Keep the tops of cupboards cleaner by lining with plain paper or newspaper. Simply replace every couple of months. </p> <p>8. Make your loo smell great by popping a few drops of your favourite essential oil in the middle of the roll. Lavender or rose are great options.</p> <p>9. Make your own fabric freshener in a spray bottle by combining one-eight of a cup of fabric softener, two tablespoons of baking soda, and topping it up with hot tap water. Shake well and use to freshen up clothing or upholstery. </p> <p>10. Clean vomit off a rug or carpet by baking a paste of baking soda and water. Clear up as much of the mess as you can and then smear the stain with the paste. Leave it to dry overnight until it becomes powdery and then just vacuum up.</p> <p>11. Clean your sandwich press or bench top grill by placing a doubled up sheet of damp paper towel in the press after you have used it and switched it off. The heat will cause the towel to steam and clean the press. Then just wipe it clean with another piece of paper towel. </p> <p>12. Clean up stained plastic containers by filling them two-thirds full with water and a tablespoon of washing up liquid. Add a quarter cup of bleach and microwave for 40 seconds, or until the solution is boiling. Leave to cool until the water is lukewarm and then wash your container as normal. </p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Home & Garden

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$5000 fine for smelly bins set to cause a huge stink

<p dir="ltr">New rules introduced in a Perth suburb could see them face a fine of up to $5,000 if their rubbish bins get too smelly.</p> <p dir="ltr">A new law could see residents of Victoria Park cop a hefty fine if their green-lidded Garden Organics (GO) bins have a bad odour, which were introduced for the disposal of grass clippings, weeds, leaves and sticks.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mayor Karen Vernon told <em><a href="https://www.6pr.com.au/rumour-confirmed-vic-park-ratepayers-face-5k-fine-for-smelly-organic-bins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6PR</a></em> the fine was introduced in a bid to ensure people sorted their rubbish correctly.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We will need some powers, as a local council, to be able to make that behaviour change appropriately,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So what’s really important is that the contents of that third bin is just organic material, so there needs to be no level of contamination in there, that’s what makes an organic collection process to work really well,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">While some have shared their support for the move, others have taken to social media to critique the “rubbish” decision.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Fining someone because their rubbish bin smells, should be a council service to disinfect bins when emptied. We pay astronomical rates let‘s see them justified,” Sheldon Baker wrote on Facebook.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Omg who seriously has clean smelling rubbish after a week in an outside bin? Maybe they can provide deodorant for our bins or perfume!” Christine Stephan said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I mean, if your bins smell, it‘s because you are lazy and that’s on you,” Kendall Mulvena-Trinder said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Rumours have also emerged that the council would employ “bin smellers” as part of the decision, with Councillor Vernon dismissing them as “exaggerated”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That certainly doesn’t mean we will be employing people to go smell other people’s bins,’’ she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">While the GO bin is currently restricted to garden waste, the council is hoping to expand this to food organics in the “not too distant future”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3c38e030-7fff-0f36-9a51-abf4ba6ea50d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @townofvicpark (Instagram)</em></p>

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Plastic pollution on Australia’s coasts has decreased by 29% since 2013

<p>Plastic pollution is an escalating global problem. Australia now produces 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, while world-wide production is expected to double by 2040.</p> <p>This pollution doesn’t just accumulate on our beaches: it can be found on land and other marine environments (heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?)</p> <p>But according to a new study by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, plastic pollution on Australia’s coasts has decreased by 29% since 2013.</p> <p>The study, which assessed waste reduction efforts in Australia and their effect on coastal pollution, highlights that although Australia’s plastic use has remained constant since 2013, local governments are getting better at preventing and cleaning up pollution.</p> <p>“Our research set out to identify the local government approaches that have been most effective in reducing coastal plastics and identify the underlying behaviours that can lead to the greatest reduction in plastic pollution,” says lead researcher Dr Kathryn Willis, a recent PhD graduate from the University of Tasmania.</p> <p>“Whilst plastic pollution is still a global crisis and we still have a long way to go, this research shows that decisions made on the ground, at local management levels, are crucial for the successful reduction of coastal plastic pollution,” she adds.</p> <p>The study has been published in One Earth.</p> <p><strong>Local government approaches work</strong></p> <p>The new research builds upon extensive 2013 CSIRO coastal litter surveys with 563 new surveys and interviews with waste managers across 32 local governments around Australia completed in 2019.</p> <p>The results found that, although there was a decrease in the overall national average coastal pollution by 29%, some surveyed municipalities showed an increase in local litter by up to 93%, while others decreased by up to 73%.</p> <p>Since global plastic pollution is driven by waste reduction strategies at a local level (regardless of where the pollution originates), researchers then focused on identifying which local government approaches had the greatest effect on these levels of coastal pollution.</p> <p>To do this they sorted local government waste management actions into three categories of human behaviour, including:</p> <p><strong>Planned behaviour – </strong>strategies like recycling guides, information and education programs, and voluntary clean-up initiatives.</p> <p><strong>Crime prevention –</strong> waste management strategies like illegal dumping surveillance and beach cleaning by local governments.</p> <p><strong>Economic – </strong>actions like kerb-side waste and recycling collection, hard waste collections and shopping bag bans.</p> <p>They found that retaining and maintaining efforts in economic waste management strategies had the largest effect on reducing coastal litter.</p> <p>“For example, household collection services, where there are multiple waste and recycling streams, makes it easier for community members to separate and discard their waste appropriately,” says co-author Dr Denise Hardesty, a principal research scientist at CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere.</p> <p>“Our research showed that increases in waste levies had the second largest effect on decreases in coastal plastic pollution. Local governments are moving away from a collect and dump mindset to a sort and improve approach,” adds Hardesty.</p> <p>Clean-up activities, such as Clean Up Australia Day, and surveillance programs that directly involved members of the community were also effective.</p> <p>“Increasing community stewardship of the local environment and beaches has huge benefits. Not only does our coastline become cleaner, but people are more inclined to look out for bad behaviour, even using dumping hotlines to report illegal polluting activity,” says Hardesty.</p> <p><strong>Another piece of the solution to our plastics problem</strong></p> <p>This isn’t the be-all and end-all solution to Australia’s plastics problem – let alone globally – but this research does provide decision-makers with empirical evidence that the choices made by municipal waste managers and policymakers are linked to reductions in plastic pollution in the environment.</p> <p>Identifying the most effective approaches for reducing coastal litter is an important part of future plastic pollution reduction strategies. The CSIRO’s Ending Plastic Waste Mission is aiming for an 80% reduction in plastic waste entering the Australian environment by 2030.</p> <p>“While we still have a long way to go, and the technical challenges are enormous, these early results show that when we each play to our individual strengths, from community groups, industry, government and research organisations, and we take the field as Team Australia, then we can win,” says Dr Larry Marshall, chief executive of CSIRO.</p> <p><em><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/australia-coastal-plastic-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Imma Perfetto.</strong></em></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Original artwork found in rubbish on sidewalk

<p dir="ltr">A Sydney man has hit the jackpot after finding an original piece of artwork worth thousands of dollars left on the sidewalk for council pick up. </p> <p dir="ltr">Leonardo Urbano stumbled across a cardboard box which contained several art pieces for children when he found one that stood out. </p> <p dir="ltr">Not thinking much about the price of it, Leonardo knew he wanted to give it a new home when he saw  Sydney artist and two-time Archibald Prize finalist Dapeng Liu's signature at the bottom.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I thought it was beautiful and I don't normally think about the price, I just think if someone would want it, then I'll take it with me," he told <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/sydney-man-discovers-3000-artwork-hidden-council-throw-out-090958132.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo Australia</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">He sent the artwork to his local art gallery who then confirmed that it was in fact an original and not  a copy. </p> <p dir="ltr">There is also a similar piece of artwork at the museum from Dapeng’s nude collection priced at a whopping $2,900. </p> <p dir="ltr">Leonardo has since been in touch with Dapeng and apologised to him saying the artwork was found in council pickup rubbish. </p> <p dir="ltr">Dapeng then informed Leonardo that he had actually gifted the piece of art to someone.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I said to him 'look, I'm sorry I found it in the street but I will treasure it as my own’.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Yahoo</em></p>

Art

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“That’s rubbish”: Jacqui Lambie slams Pauline Hanson’s discrimination bill

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has dubbed One Nation the “enemy of healthcare workers” after the party proposed a bill banning discrimination against unvaccinated people.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Senator Lambie accused Pauline Hanson, who proposed the bill, of thriving on discrimination regarding immigration and other issues.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“One Nation wants autistic children to be taken out of public schools because, and I quote, they are a ‘strain’ on the rest of the class,” Senator Lambie <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/jacqui-lambie-blasts-pauline-hanson-and-one-nation-over-vaccine-mandate-bill/6447aa2f-2270-4e1a-9780-3b41de21e7e1" target="_blank">said</a>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“One Nation wants a ban on any immigration from majority Muslim countries, even if the person isn’t Muslim.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“People don’t choose what country they are born in, that is discrimination.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Being held accountable for your own actions isn’t called discrimination, it’s called being - you wouldn’t believe it - a God damn, bloody adult.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“That’s right, it’s being an adult. It’s putting others before yourself. That’s what this country is supposed to be about.”</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Every Australian who's been vaccinated is a hero. You have done your bit to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. <br /><br />That's mateship. It's who we are. <a href="https://t.co/gZdBMbIlG1">pic.twitter.com/gZdBMbIlG1</a></p> — Jacqui Lambie (@JacquiLambie) <a href="https://twitter.com/JacquiLambie/status/1462655811130249216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Senator Lambie said state-enforced lockdowns and border restrictions - which have prompted anti-lockdown protests across the country - weren’t fuelled by discrimination.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We don’t have lockdowns and border restrictions because state premiers love discrimination, that’s rubbish,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have them because they don’t want people dying.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This is the only weapon we have and we need to do everything we can to keep ourselves safe and our children safe.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following a heated debate, the Senate halted the progress of the bill by 44 votes to five.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, the five proponents of the bill included Coalition Senators Matt Canavan, Gerard Rennick, Alex Antic, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and Sam McMahon.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the five dissenters and insisted that the Liberal-National parties could deal with differing opinions.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">very strong speech from Jacqui Lambie, bluntly opposing One Nation's vaccine mandate "discrimination" bill:<br /><br />"that's the way it is. We do that to keep people safe. How about that?"<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a> <a href="https://t.co/sXv0DZtviq">pic.twitter.com/sXv0DZtviq</a></p> — Josh Butler (@JoshButler) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshButler/status/1462578638914682882?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Question Time on Monday, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese questioned Mr Morrison’s decision to mandate vaccinations for some Australians in light of party members opposing mandates.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Why does the Prime Minister claim he is opposed to mandatory vaccinations when he has imposed mandatory vaccinations on aged care workers, Australians returning home, quarantine workers and even journalists attending his own press conferences?” Mr Albanese asked.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Morrison replied that these rules came from following the health advice.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The government doesn’t oppose mandatory vaccinations for health workers and aged care workers and disability workers,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Mandatory vaccines for healthcare workers, for aged care workers, for those working with vulnerable people was the clear medical advice.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It has been essential to take a series of decisions to protect Australians (but) there is a time for governments to step back.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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Police sift through piles of rubbish in search for Cleo

<p><em>Image: WA Police </em></p> <p>Investigators are sorting through piles of rubbish as the desperate search for missing WA girl Cleo Smith continues.</p> <p>Mountains of rubbish have been collected from roadside bins as far as south of Geraldton, more than 500 kms from where she vanished, and as far as north Minilya, 165kms away.</p> <p>The rubbish was packed into two trucks and transported to Perth, where four forensics officials and 20 officers have spent two days sorting through hundreds of bags in an effort to find any items that may offer clues.</p> <p>WA Police Commission Chris Dawson said officers were not giving up.</p> <p>“We’ve got thousands of (pieces of) really important information plus of course the thousands of forensic items we’ve seized, but it’s now been 16 days,” he said.</p> <p>“Every day that goes past is the most difficult for Cleo’s parents and loved ones, obviously we share their concern.”</p> <p>‘We never give up hope and it’s most important that we remain focussed on the goal and the goal is clearly to find Cleo.”</p> <p>Cleo’s mother, Ellie Smith, posted another plea on social media.</p> <p>“Every day is getting harder without my shining bright light,” she said.</p> <p>It remains a mystery as to who was driving the car south from Blowholes Road around the time of Cleo’s disappearance.</p> <p>A fundraising page set up by a family friend has now been closed at the request of Ellie and Jack. The money raised will help pay for helicopters and search teams, with any leftover going to the family, who have thanked the community for their generosity.</p>

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“Rubbish”: Family friend blasts missing boy conspiracy theories

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With their three-year-old son returned to them three days after disappearing, the Elfalek family has called out those doubting their story.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“No one could understand what this is like, what happened and what we went through,” Alan Hashem, AJ’s godfather and the family’s neighbour, told </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">7NEWS</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There’s nothing, people saying ‘crocodile tears, you guys aren’t showing emotion, the best friend is very suss with Anthony’s (AJ’s father’s) wife’. Like, just rubbish.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Three-year-old Anthony ‘AJ’ Elfalek’s disappearance consumed the country over the weekend, after the non-verbal autistic toddler went missing on Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After NSW Police deployed an extensive search around his family’s 650-acre property in Putty, in the NSW Hunter Valley.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At 11.30am on Monday, it was announced that the toddler had been found about 470 metres from his home in a creek bed by a rescue helicopter.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">A three-year-old child missing on a rural property in the Hunter region since Friday has been located following a large-scale search.<a href="https://t.co/VrlVwL4sYW">https://t.co/VrlVwL4sYW</a> <a href="https://t.co/byOXFCiD1j">pic.twitter.com/byOXFCiD1j</a></p> — NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/nswpolice/status/1434739398130606081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Polair1 was flying over a ridge with a creek bed in it and they notice some movement. They were able to clearly identify a small boy in a puddle in a creek bed. That was the movement to alert Polair there was someone there,” Superintendent Tracy Chapman said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There were emotional scenes on the property following the news, with family members and friends seen cheering and celebrating.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843804/discovery.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/0ea217ed427145c6998ec05229fd3d1e" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Channel 9</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the boy has been found, Ms Chapman said the police investigation surrounding his initial disappearance would continue.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“From a policing perspective we will still be continuing our inquiry to understand what has occurred over the past three days and how he came to be found after three days but certainly what occurred over the course of those three days,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">AJ’s family said they would continue to search for answers too.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We still need to find out what happened. We need answers. This is our little fortress. Did he leave? Who did he leave with? Did anything sinister happen?” Mr Hashem said, according to the ABC.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You know, these questions that need to still be answered. You know, and we will not stop until we actually find the truth.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">AJ suffered minor scratches and nappy rash, but was otherwise determined to be in a healthy condition.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Facebook</span></em></p>

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Royal baby name "rubbish" swept aside

<p>As expected, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's announcement of their daughter's birth and name has sparked a wave of coverage around the world.</p> <p>However, 9Honey's royal columnist Victoria Arbiter has pointed out that not all of it is accurate, particularly with regard to royal naming traditions and how much influence the Queen has over her descendants' names.</p> <p>Arbiter has addressed three particular mistruths surrounding baby Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor's arrival on Twitter.</p> <p>"No, there is not a 'roster' of names from which royals are expected to pick," she wrote, referring to a common but erroneous belief.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">So much rubbish being put out this afternoon:<br />- No, there is not a 'roster' of names from which royals are expected to pick.<br />- The Queen gives her blessing, not 'permission'. She's not a dictator.<br />- No, 'Lilibet' was not coined by Prince Philip. The Queen came up with it herself.</p> — Victoria Arbiter (@victoriaarbiter) <a href="https://twitter.com/victoriaarbiter/status/1401602658369216515?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>Royals usually name their babies after the ones who came before them, like Harry and Meghan who named their daughter after the Queen and Princess Diana, and Prince William and Kate have with their three children.</p> <p>However, they aren't restricted to using their predecessors' names.</p> <p>Many of the names chosen for younger members of the family - and further down the line of succession - including Savannah, Isla, Archie and even Zara, have been more modern.</p> <p>This leads into Arbiter's next point: "The Queen gives her blessing, not 'permission'. She's not a dictator."</p> <p>Royal couples run their chosen baby names by Queen Elizabeth, and she's often the first in the family to hear them, but ultimately the choice is the parents'.</p>

Family & Pets

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Man reveals why he hasn’t taken his bins out in three years

<p>One Australian man has revealed he has not put his rubbish out for collection in more than three years.</p> <p>Gary Moran, from South Australia says his bins have not been put out because he makes calculated choices about the items he purchases.</p> <p>Mr Moran, from Gawler admitted he avoids most items at the supermarket.</p> <p>"I grow some veggies myself and do some shopping at bulk stores and farmer markets, but I'm also careful at the supermarket as to make sure that anything that I do purchase, that the packaging is recyclable," Mr Moran said to <em>Yahoo News Australia.</em></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7840943/rubbish.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ac54d60472c540f48e24978682f06ead" /></p> <p>He also said he recycles his soft plastic through REDcycle, making it a much simpler to reduce his overall waste.</p> <p>"It's been an ongoing thing that I've built on," he said.</p> <p>Mr Moran says he cut down his general waste drastically when he began crunching all of his aluminium foil into a large ball and combing smaller bits of metal and plastic into individual containers.</p> <p>He says he didn’t feel like he had to sacrifice anything to become more environmentally friendly.</p> <p>"I can't say that I really sacrificed anything, it's just about making a more intelligent choice about what you buy. I don't feel like I miss out on anything," he said.</p> <p>Mr Moran encourages those hoping to get into the minimal-waste lifestyle to make small changes to their daily habits.</p> <p>"When you want to start on a similar journey, you can make a small station at home where you can separate your things at the source," he said.</p> <p>"It's so easy when there's something in your hand that needs to be put somewhere, and it's no harder than throwing it in the bin."</p> <p>He also warned consumers to think about where their rubbish ends up going when they are done with it and to be wary of what they purchase.</p> <p><em>Image: Yahoo</em></p>

Home & Garden

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Bryan Brown addresses "rubbish" COVID-19 rumour

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Actor Bryan Brown has spoken out after he and his wife Rachel Ward were falsely linked to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Beaches last year.</p> <p>The Palm Beach star faced an abundance of hate online after it was claimed that he and Ward were responsible for the Avalon cluster after a spike in cases resulted in new restrictions and lockdown.</p> <p>“I’m not on social media so I didn’t know anything about it until suddenly I was getting phone calls from everyone,” Brown told Confidential.</p> <p>It was falsely claimed that Brown and Ward had caught the strain of the virus from the US after a recent trip and that it was spread after a personal training class at their home.</p> <p>“It was a load of rubbish ... I have no idea how this started,” Brown said.</p> <p>“I haven’t been overseas in 18 months. I didn’t have COVID-19. I don’t have a personal trainer. I don’t live on the Northern Beaches. I have no idea how it happened.”</p> <p>At the time, Ward also set the record straight on social media.</p> <p>“Just to set the record straight. I haven’t been to US for over 5 yrs [sic],” she wrote on Instagram.</p> <p>“I don’t have a personal trainer. I’ve been in mid north coast for past 10 days. I don’t have Covid. Pic taken 15 mins ago. Pick on another witch.”</p> <p>The couple once owned a home north of Avalon but moved to Inner West.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-action-bar-component-wrapper"> <div class="post-actions-component"> <div class="upper-row"><span class="like-bar-component"></span> <div class="right-box-container"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Caring

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Neighbour's bizarre behaviour over rubbish bin spat

<p>A woman has shared a video revealing the damage caused by her next-door neighbour after she parked on the street outside their house.</p> <p>While the US TikToker, who goes by Lena Cuisine on social media, didn’t do anything wrong, her frustrated neighbour claimed she parked in the spot for his rubbish bin.</p> <p>The neighbour then decided to stick an angry note on the window of her car and wrote a scathing message on the side of her white vehicle in Sharpie.</p> <p>“You illegally occupied our garbage canister location, please move your car ASAP,” both messages read.</p> <p>In the video, Lena said she attempted to talk to her neighbour who wouldn’t answer the door and asked for tips because the pen wasn’t coming off her car.</p> <p>“This is where I’m legally allowed to park, but my neighbours like to leave lots of notes saying I’m illegally parking where their garbage can goes – it’s not even garbage day,” she explains, showing the green bin pulled up right behind her car.</p> <p>The video has since gone viral, being viewed over 4 million times since it was shared on November 17.</p> <p>“A garbage can doesn’t get a reserved parking space,” one person raged.</p> <p>“This is so wrong, people can’t just write with permanent ink on your car,” another stated.</p> <p>While another said: “I don’t understand why they’re upset with you when you’re literally parked outside your own house.”</p> <p>Lena went ahead and shared a second video, showing footage of police asking the neighbour if he had vandalised the car with a marker - to which he replied: “Yes, they occupied my garbage location. I cannot put my garbage on the location.”</p> <p>The officer then informs him that what he did was illegal, to which the neighbour tries to argue she had broken the law first by parking in the spot - a point police state “no” to.</p> <p>After calling Lena a “bad woman”, the clip cuts to her neighbour – whose identity has been protected – cleaning her car.</p> <p>He even went one step further and sprayed perfume on the vehicle to make it smell nice, later gifting her the perfume to keep for herself.</p> <p>Many praised Lena for being kind when she could have been rightly angry.</p> <p>“He is clearly old, was bitter and confused. You handled it with grace and maturity, I’m honestly inspired,” one said.</p> <p>“This kind of hurts my heart, the confusion in old age is hard. Be kind always,” a woman wrote.</p> <p>“Aww, he sounded like a grumpy old man, he was so nice to give the perfume,” another said.</p> <p>“I think he feels bad now,” someone else mused, while one declared the update was “nothing I expected and everything I needed”.</p> <p>Many others agreed they were torn, writing he was in the wrong but couldn’t help but feel bad for him.</p> <p>Lena later shared another video updating everyone saying she was nice because she only ever wanted to have a “civil conversation” with her neighbour and for him to “clean up my car”.</p>

Travel Trouble

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“Rubbish”: Voice judges go head to head again in fiery exchange

<p><em>The Voice</em> judges Guy Sebastian and Kelly Rowland continued their fiery clash on Monday night’s episode of the singing competition.</p> <p>Rowland had walked off set in the closing moments of Sunday night’s episode after a harsh disagreement with Sebastian.</p> <p>Guy chose Mongolian throat singer Bukhu Ganburged, to take on teammate Johnny Manuel for a battle round performance. Rowland felt the pairing was unfair to Bukhu, given his specific skill, and said the pairing seemed specially orchestrated to showcase Johnny talents.</p> <p>Sebastian labelled her “disrespectful” as she stormed off set.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836634/the-voice-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/809a6b305fd84ab99eea76f87592b600" /></p> <p>And on Monday, Delta Goodrem even defended her fellow judge, Rowland, as the clash continued.</p> <p>“I don’t think it’s fair to say Kelly’s disrespectful – she’s allowed to say what she feels out here. That’s not fair,” she told Sebastian.</p> <p>Fellow coach Boy George attempted to make the mood lighter by saying he too had walked off set last lesson, as “Sometimes you just need to take a break.”</p> <p>“No, she doesn’t need a break!” Goodrem responded.</p> <p>“She’s said what she needs to say, and that’s fair,” she said, leaving the stage to check on Rowland.</p> <p>Sebastian apologised to the performers, saying: “You guys were part of a great moment. The crowd were standing on their feet enjoying two gifted musos. I’m sorry it’s turned to this,” he said.</p> <p>Backstage, Rowland told Goodrem that she was prepared to “just let it go. My feelings ain’t hurt, but this s**t is redundant.”</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836636/the-voice.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/fb47779ef61f41d78d0a58f9a5f0ecd4" /></p> <p>As the pair returned to their seats, it was time for Guy to decide which of the two performers he’d keep in his team and who he’d send home.</p> <p>After heaping praise on Bukhu, he said that “it’s quite clear this show suits somebody like Johnny, so I don’t think it’ll be any surprise that I’m going to go for Johnny.</p> <p>“I’m going to watch this back so many times, because I’m such a fan a both of you. This is why I do the show – to create moments like this.”</p> <p>However, backstage Sebastian escalated the emotions by speaking to <em>Voice </em>presenter Renee Bargh.</p> <p>“I felt like it was weird. There was no protest between these guys, they loved the idea (of performing together), they loved the collaboration … It seems like a low blow for drama,” he said.</p> <p>He seemingly suggested to his contestants the entire argument had been staged.</p> <p>“I’m just so sorry that has to happen. It’s the thing that I struggle with so much because I don’t even think people believe some of the things they say sometimes,” he told them.</p> <p>Sebastian’s words didn’t set well with his colleagues, who could hear what he was saying from where they sat on stage.</p> <p>“Can you hear him? He makes it up as he goes along. ‘It’s not a battle, it’s a collaboration’ – it is a battle. This is the battle rounds,” said Boy George.</p> <p>“It’s just rubbish, what he’s saying. Can you get him back, so we can get on with the show?”</p> <p>Rowland says she felt Guy made “a terrible choice” and “thought he was wrong."</p> <p>Guy admitted he felt weird about the situation: “Imagine having a mad blow-up with a workmate? I feel bruised.”</p> <p>He also took to Twitter to apologise for Monday’s episode, writing that there are “a lot that people don’t see on the show,” including “mentoring and follow-up phone calls with the artists”.</p> <p>“I am disappointed that I didn’t just cop it on the chin and bring focus back to the artists,” he wrote.</p> <p>“It was a challenge having someone like Bukhu and I admit that it seemed vocally unbalanced. I wanted them both 2 shine &amp; thought that showcasing Bukhu’s musicianship was the way 2 do it. He is exceptional and I’m sad that this went down the way it did due to my choice. It’s something that cuts me &amp; I didn’t handle it well.”</p>

TV

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Outrage over photo as lockdown restrictions are eased

<p>A photo of a “disgusting” mess around a bin in a New Zealand park has caused outrage after the government eased lockdown restrictions for COVID-19.</p> <p>Merania Mihaka, a resident of Rotorua on the north island, claims that it only took hours for people to create a mess.</p> <p>"For 5 weeks Papatuanuku was able to heal herself, it takes less than 24 hrs for humans to ruin her again," she wrote, alongside photos of rubbish from fast food restaurants left discarded around public bins, on Facebook.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmerania.mihaka%2Fposts%2F3396723683689151&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=552&amp;height=741&amp;appId" width="552" height="741" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>Papatuanuka is a Māori term meaning the land or a Mother Earth figure in Māori mythology.</p> <p>Others were angered by the sight.</p> <p>“Obviously these people don't appreciate what they have,” one woman wrote.</p> <p>One man added: “humans are the worst”.</p> <p>“Disgusting alright,” another woman wrote. </p> <p>“How disappointing to see some people just never learn.”</p> <p>The photo was posted just a day after New Zealand moved out of its toughest level of coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, allowing some non-essential businesses to reopen.</p> <p>"There is no one point in time that this mission ends. We are in the next phase of the battle and we are not done,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern explained.</p> <p>“It’s an ongoing battle.”</p> <p>The level three restrictions, which limit people to local travel and keep malls, pubs, hairdresser and other businesses closed, will last for at least another two weeks.</p> <p>"No one wants a second wave in New Zealand and we must guard against that," Ms Ardern said.</p> <p>"Elimination does not mean zero cases," she said.</p> <p>"It would be an ongoing campaign and zero tolerance for cases."</p>

Travel Trouble

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“Poorly researched rubbish”: Ray Hadley slams Alan Jones over stance on George Pell

<p>Radio presenter Ray Hadley has slammed rival Alan Jones over his morning interview with columnist Andrew Bolt about Cardinal George Pell’s acquittal.</p> <p>Sydney radio 2GB mornings host Hadley said Jones had aired “poorly researched rubbish” on his breakfast show.</p> <p>Bolt, who is based in Melbourne is a newspaper columnist, blogger and Sky Television host and made an appearance on Jones’ show demanding an apology from Hadley for calling him “creepy” after he defended the cardinal.</p> <p>But Hadley said Bolt was wrong because he only called him “creepy” in reference to a separate case concerning a pedophile.</p> <p>“I won’t be apologising for calling him ‘creepy’ in relation to Pell because I did not,” Hadley said furiously as his show began at 9 am on Wednesday.</p> <p>“So Mr Bolt don’t hold your breath … check your facts.”</p> <p>Hadley then told his audience Bolt was on his open phone line before saying ‘you’ve had your say’ and declining the call.</p> <p>At 9:25am, Bolt hit back on his<span> </span><em>Herald Sun</em><span> </span>blog, saying “Ray Hadley is a coward.”</p> <p>“I asked to go on air for a right of reply but he refused.”</p> <p>Bolt then said he tried once more to get on air and spoke to a Hadley program staffer.</p> <p>“Once again Ray refused to take my call, and then went on air again to accuse me of bullying his staffer. Falsely claimed I said I would have his staffer sacked.”</p> <p>Bolt did admit to telling the staffer he should be ashamed of working for Hadley and that “I would remember him”, according to his blog post.</p> <p>The feud began when Bolt spoke to Hadley’s 2GB stablemate, breakfast host Alan Jones, just before 9 am and demanded the apology.</p> <p>The pair had been discussing the outcome of a High Court hearing into the Pell case.</p> <p>The court on Tuesday acquitted Cardinal Pell of five child sexual abuse offences because there was a “significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof.”</p> <p>Cardinal Pell spent over 400 days – first in Melbourne’s Metropolitan Remand Centre and alter the maximum security Barwon Prison – in jail before he was released within hours of the High Court judgement.</p>

News

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Why four rubbish bins won’t solve our issues the way we hope for

<p>Australia is still grappling with what to do with the glut of recyclable material after <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-recycling-ban-throws-australia-into-a-very-messy-waste-crisis-95522">China closed most of its market</a> to our recycling in 2018.</p> <p>Now the Victorian government has released the first major change to state recycling policy: a <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/transforming-recycling-in-victoria/">consistent kerbside four bin system by 2030</a>, and a <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/container-deposit-scheme">container deposit scheme</a>.</p> <p>So what’s the proposed new kerbside bin system, and will it help alleviate Australia’s recycling crisis? Here’s what you need to know about the extra bin coming your way.</p> <p><strong>The problems with our recycling system</strong></p> <p>There are two big problems – particularly since the China ban.</p> <p>One is about supply. The quality of materials we have for recycling is quite poor, partly from the design of the <a href="https://www.wmrr.asn.au/Public/Press_Releases/MEM_2019__business_as_usual_can_no_longer_be_the_way_to_go.aspx">products</a>, and partly how we collect and sort waste items.</p> <p>The other is demand. There’s not enough demand for recycled materials in new products or infrastructure, and so the commodity value of the materials, even high quality, is low.</p> <p>And even though many of us think we’re good at recycling, many households aren’t getting recycling exactly right because they put things that don’t belong in the recycling bin, such as soft plastics.</p> <p>One reason is because of the confusion about what can be recycled, where and when. A standardised system of collection (no matter how many bins) will go a long way to improving this, and the most exciting aspect of the Victorian announcement is the strong leadership towards consistency across the state.</p> <p>This means by 2030, no matter where Victorians live or visit, they’ll have a consistent kerbside bin system.</p> <p>But to boost our recycling capacity, we need consistency across the country. New South Wales, South Australian and Western Australian governments are already supporting combined food and garden organics bins, and other states are likely to follow as the evidence of the benefits continues to accumulate.</p> <p><strong>What will change?</strong></p> <p>Details are still being ironed out, but essentially, the new system expands the current two or three bins most Victorian houses have to four bins.</p> <p>While paper, cardboard and plastic or metal containers will still go in the yellow bin, glass containers will now have their own separate purple bin (or crate). A green bin, which some Victorians already have for garden vegetation, will expand to collect food scraps.</p> <p>The purple bin will come first, with the gradual roll-out starting next year as some Victorian councils’ existing collection contracts come to a close. The service is expected to be <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-02/FAQs%20-%20Households.pdf">fully in place by 2027</a> (some remote areas may be exempt).</p> <p>And the expanded green bin service accepting food scraps for composting will be rolled out by 2030, unless councils choose to move earlier (some are already <a href="https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/mwrrg-fogo-guide/">doing so</a>).</p> <p><strong>How extra bins will make a difference</strong></p> <p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/pdf/Separate%20collection_Final%20Report.pdf">A 2015 report</a> on managing household waste in Europe showed separating our waste increases the quality of material collected. Some countries even have up to six bins (or crates, or sacks).</p> <p>That’s because it’s easier for people to sort out the different materials than for machines, particularly food and the complex packaging we have today.</p> <p>A separate bin for food (plus garden organics) will help recover Victoria’s share of the <a href="https://fightfoodwastecrc.com.au/project/consumer-attitudes/">2.5 million tonnes of food and scraps</a> Australian households chuck out each year.</p> <p>And a separate bin for glass will help with <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=003576f0-9a94-4da2-a388-2316a1ab3d6b&amp;subId=561622">glass breaking in the yellow bin or collection truck</a>, contaminating surrounding paper and cardboard with tiny glass shards that renders them unrecyclable. It should also boost how much glass gets recycled, according to Australia’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=003576f0-9a94-4da2-a388-2316a1ab3d6b&amp;subId=561622">largest glass reprocesser</a>.</p> <p><strong>What do they need to get right?</strong></p> <p>To make sure the transition to the new system is smooth, councils and the Victorian government must consider:</p> <ul> <li>the space needed for four bins</li> </ul> <p>Not everyone has enough space (inside or outside). This may require creative council and household solutions like those already found overseas (stackable crates and segregated bins).</p> <ul> <li>the collection schedule</li> </ul> <p>Does the new purple bin mean we’ll see a another truck, or perhaps a special <a href="https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/myth-busting-in-the-midlands/">multi-compartment recycling truck</a>? And once councils have food waste in a weekly green bin, will the red bin collection go fortnightly? This actually makes sense because <a href="https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/Government/Waste-and-resource-recovery/Kerbside-waste-and-recycling/Kerbside-organics-collection">35</a>-<a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/8b73aa44-aebc-4d68-b8c9-c848358958c6/files/collection-manual-fs1.pdf">60</a>% of the red bin is food scraps, which will be gone.</p> <ul> <li>correct disposal of food waste</li> </ul> <p>Many councils that have already added food waste to the green bin report contamination issues as people get their head around the transition, such as putting food wrappers in with the food scraps.</p> <ul> <li>correct sorting of recycling</li> </ul> <p>Putting the wrong thing in the recycling bin is a problem across the country, and taking glass out of the yellow bin won’t solve this issue. While this is already being tackled in <a href="http://sustainability.vic.gov.au/recycling">government campaigns</a> and <a href="https://www.behaviourworksaustralia.org/waste-collaboration/">council trials</a>, we’ll likely need more government effort at both a systems and household level.</p> <p><strong>Better collection won’t mean much without demand</strong></p> <p>Collection is only one piece of the puzzle. Government support is needed to make sure all this recycling actually ends up somewhere. Efforts to improve the “supply-side” aspects of recycling can go to waste if there’s no demand for the recycled materials.</p> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joes.12156">Environmental economists</a> have long pointed out that without government intervention, free markets in most countries will not pay enough or use enough recycled material when new, or “virgin”, materials are so cheap.</p> <p>What’s great for Victoria is the new four bin system is only one pillar of the state’s new <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/transforming-recycling-victoria">recycling policy</a>.</p> <p>It also includes many demand-side initiatives, from market development grants and infrastructure funding, to developing a Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre. The policy also deems waste management to be an “essential service” and has left space for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/19/minister-flags-ambitious-recycling-targets-to-kickstart-waste-market">strong procurement commitments</a>. Today, Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged the importance of procurement when he announced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/02/scott-morrison-to-pledge-new-rules-and-better-infrastructure-to-boost-recycling">an overhaul</a> of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2019L00536">Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines</a> at the National Plastics Summit, to boost demand for recycled products.</p> <p>We also need regulation on the <a href="https://www.nwric.com.au/waste-exports-alone-wont-drive-resource-recovery/">use of recycled material in products</a>. For example, through mandated targets or fiscal policies like a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/29/uk-to-consult-on-plastic-packaging-tax-chancellor-says">tax on products made from virgin materials</a>.</p> <p>Since 2018 when China stopped taking most of our recycling, the level of industry, community and media interest has created a strong platform for policy change. It’s exciting to see Victoria responding to the challenge.</p> <p><em>Written by Jennie Downes. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://theconversation.com/four-bins-might-help-but-to-solve-our-waste-crisis-we-need-a-strong-market-for-recycled-products-132440"><em>The Conversation.</em></a></p>

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