clean up time now

It's time for people across the Dandenongs to clean up their properties for the upcoming fire season. Many of us last season were caught unawares by the early declaration of the fire danger period and missed the opportunity to dispose of fire fuel by burning off.

Don't wait for Mr Brumby's clean up week from the 11th to 18th October, the time to act is now. Remember making your property fire ready means getting rid of the fire fuels, the twigs, the leaves, the bark, the dead undergrowth on your property (for more info on fire fuels and other things you can do to make your property fire ready visit the CFA website).

The Shire of Yarra Ranges allows residents in Bushland Residential and Rural areas to burn off, but remember burning off is permitted for fuel reduction purposes only. You should never burn when the wind speed is more than 15km/h and make sure your fire is supervised at all times by an adult.

You must ensure that water supply from a hose or a container with at least 10 litres of water must be available at the site of the fire.

Your fire must not cause nuisance through excessive smoke outside of a property boundary or create a hazard on a public highway and burning wet or green vegetation and other materials which produce excessive smoke is prohibited.

Remember NO BURNING ON SUNDAY.

For more info on burning off in Yarra Ranges click here.

There are also other ways to dispose of your fire fuels, consider if it can be recycled, mulched or composted? Or perhaps you'd like to wait for the free tipping service in October, 2009.

Back on the 24th February, 2009 I successfully moved the following motion:
That Council:

1. Investigate:

(a) The provision of a weekly green waste bin service over the fire danger period.

(b) Alternate ways for residents to dispose of fire fuel loads.

2. Review the success of the current bundled green waste collection.

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The results of that review will be considered by council at this week's meeting on Tuesday 25th August, I'm pleased to report that residents will be given the opportunity to dispose of their fire fuel with free access to the tip for one month from the commencement of the clean up week on the 11th October. Residents will also be encouraged to upgrade their 120 litre green waste bin to a 240 litre bin (at an additional annual cost of $15) to assist with the removal of fire fuel over the fire season.

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Although not voted on yet, I certainly will be supporting the recommendation. It is essential that we do all we can to assist residents with fire fuel reduction.

I urge residents to start the clean up now, take advantage of council's green waste fortnightly collection, bundled branch collection and free tipping too.