Attention: Government, Educators, Businesses and Households

Take a look at www.resourcesmart.vic.gov.au

This is a fabulous website that is full of great ideas to encourage working smarter with our resources. It gives you ideas on topics like…how to start a recycling program, detox your home, gain funding for Zero Waste initiatives and save money on your hot water bills etc.

We love the competition for schools: 2009 ResourceSmart School Awards and the Rubbish Free Lunch Challenge! Nominations are now open and the Rubbish Free Lunch Challenge measurement day is Wednesday 22 July 2009 sign up before then to take part in the Challenge. Completed entries for the 2009 Rubbish Free Lunch Challenge and nominations for the 2009 ResourceSmart Schools Awards are both due by Monday August 24 2009.

With a prize pool of over $50,000, winning schools will win cash and prizes to assist with their ongoing sustainability projects. Finalist schools also have the chance to present at the Kids Teaching Kids workshop and Awards Ceremony in November 2009. The Awards and Challenge are proudly presented by Sustainability Victoria.

Take a look at their website to find out more: www.resourcesmart.vic.gov.au

Maybe you will need a skip bin for your project??? If so visit www.bookabin.com.au to get an instant quote now!!

www.cleanup.org.au is an organisation that works with the community, government and business to provide practical solutions to help us all live more sustainably every day of the year. Devised by yachtsman, Ian Kiernan, the organisation has been making a difference to the environment in Australia and around the world.

The mission of the organisation and its program is to inspire and work with communities to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment.

Clean Up Australia introduced the Green Teacher Award to celebrate and recognise teachers who have been a positive influence on students by carrying out environmental projects within their school community.

To be successful, teachers should demonstrate environmental excellence through the following:

• Implementing or maintaining a program or activity that contributes to the wide understanding of environmental issues
• Significant achievements and results of the project
• Working with students, teachers, parents or the wider community to develop the project
• Promoting environmental awareness on a daily basis

So Congratulations to these teachers helping to make a difference in their local communities! We are very proud of:

National Winner - Sandra Charlton, Gordonvale State School, QLD
Victoria State Winner - Susan Doull, Creswick North Public School, VIC
South Australia State Winner - Jeany Hoffman, Waikerie Primary School, SA
Western Australia State Winner - Jannina Halicki, Ellenbrook Christian College, WA

Unfortunately, no applications were received from for ACT, TAS, and NT, so maybe next year we can celebrate the successes from teachers in these areas also!

Tasmania is one of the most beautiful places and we hope to keep it that way!

What’s happening out there? There seems to be a growing problem with illegally dumped rubbish in forests close to towns such as the plantations at Stoodley and Isandula, and in forest reserves including Dog’s Head and Montana Falls.

Currently, members of the community are being encouraged to play a part in helping to stamp out illegal rubbish dumping following a major clean up of rubbish in North West state forests by Forestry Tasmania in conjunction with the Dulverton Regional Waste Management Authority.

Do your part to help and report rubbish dumping or other illegal activities by phoning Forestry Tasmania on 6424 8388 or Bushwatch on 1800 333 000.

Tasmanian Marine Debris Clean Up Volunteers say more and more rubbish continues to damage coastal and marine species in the area. Ten years on the Surfrider Foundation continues to help clean up the environment.

12 volunteers have just returned from the latest clean up of beaches in Tasmania’s South West Wilderness World Heritage Area with 9,000 pieces of rubbish (that’s about 1.4 ton of waste!). Foreign objects collected for disposal include a Russian hand cream container and a few Korean and Japanese water bottles. They also found a potty! The rubbish is not declining!

So do your part and ensure that when you are making use of our natural surroundings you take your rubbish home to dispose of. Pick up anything else that should be in the bin, to dispose of at home and you are extending the life of the Tasmanian environment.

Well Done!

We dedicated people at bookabin have decided to dedicate this blog to the most frequently asked questions that people ask on our live chat.

Some of these are “What is the price of a bin?”. The answer to this is….get a quote from our user friendly website! You start by entering your postcode on our homepage, then follow the booking process by entering in all your booking requirements such as dates, size and waste type. The website will then generate a quote for you, if you find the quote appealing (which you will) then go ahead and book the bin. How easy is that?!

Another popular question is “How do I know what bin to put my waste in?”. Well, here is the answer…. There are 3 types of bins, A general waste bin is for (yes you guessed it) general waste! Things like wood, plastic and metal. The cleanfill bin is for heavy waste such as concrete, soil and bricks. The last bin is the green waste bin which is for all garden waste such as grass and leaves.

I hope this helps with your booking!!

We should all be trying to reduce our “footprint” and nurture our environment so we can get the best out of our beautiful planet for as long as possible.

80 million plastic bags end up as litter in Australia each year - creating a serious threat to our precious marine life, but Australians are among the best newspaper recyclers in the world, recycling 74.5% of newspapers in 2005. So now let’s get rid of those plastic bags! (Recycling one ton of plastic saves enough energy to run a refrigerator for a month).

An estimated 7 billion cigarette butts end up in Australian waterways, streets and parklands each year but in 2005, Australians recycled 2.3 billion aluminum cans. (That’s 600 million more than ten years ago!). Kick it in the “butt” Australia, let’s concentrate on getting those butts in the bin!

Australians are amongst the highest producers of waste per person in the world, but things are looking up if the following facts are anything to go by, well done Australia!

• In some NSW council areas, households are recycling nearly 46% of their waste!
• Recyclable material makes up almost 80% of total household waste in Australia.
• Over the past 15 years volunteers on Clean Up Australia Day have collected over 200,000 tons of rubbish. That’s 4.7 million household wheelie bins!

Remember every 10 tons of recyclable materials recovered is equivalent to:

• Taking four cars off the road permanently
• Providing a year’s electricity for 14.5 households
• Saving enough water to fill 3.5 average backyard swimming pools

Think twice before disposing of your waste!

Thought so…..most likely why you are reading this blog! Thanks to us, it’s simple, just log onto www.bookabin.com.au . You start by entering your zip code, then the type of skip bin you want, next you select the dates and just like that our site will produce a quote. We have many suppliers signed up with us, so you will actually be getting a quote of the best price in your area, with out having to deal with lots of bin companies yourself! Magic isn’t it?!

We have coverage all over Australia, from Melbourne, to Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and even little old Hobart!

So come guys get cleaning and get booking!!!

bookabin works as an agent for many local suppliers; we can search a variety of suppliers schedules to present you with the best price available matching your requirements.

The website searches pricing for ”real time” stock, meaning the price presented is for stock that is actually available matching the size and dates you require.

Often our competitors have a price advertised but no stock left, bookabin will only present a price for stock that is available to you as requested.

The cheapest stock books out first so here are some tips for you to action to ensure you get the sharpest deal on a skip bin booking through bookabin:

Tip One: Try to book a week in advance (the cheapest prices present first, so the best priced stock books out quickly)

Tip Two: Try different sizes (if you are trying for a popular size, you may get a better rate on a slightly larger bin)

Tip Three: Try different dates (you can book for more than 6 days on this site, but shorter hire may result in a better price )

Good Luck! Remember you can LIVE CHAT with us at www.bookabin.com.au if you have any questions….

People that book bins at www.bookabin.com.au are usually after a “skip bin”. The size of the bin could vary from 2m all the way up to 30m depending on the waste they have to dispose of. www.bookabin.com.au works as an agent for a large variety of suppliers across Australia to ensure that customers are serviced by a local supplier.

Sometimes the supplier’s stock varies in how it look’s, meaning the shape of a bin might be different from what is imagined. On the website, images are indicative of volume only; actual dimensions may vary depending on the supplier that is servicing the order. This means that the image will give the customer an idea of how much waste will fit into the bin. When the bin arrives, the shape may look different, it may have shorter sides and a larger base or visa versa, but it will hold the same volume. Walk in, Trailer Bin, Opening Doors, Closing Lid….these are some of the features that are often required for certain waste disposal. Once a bin is booked through www.bookabin.com.au it is recommended that customers contact their supplier directly to find out more about these features as not all bin’s supplied will have these features.

With Easter coming up in three weeks keep in mind the cheapest bins will book out first so get in fast to get the best deal on skip hire, visit www.bookabin.com.au now!!

A report on environmental trends outlines that every Australian creates one tonne of rubbish each year, making the nation the second largest waste creator after the United States. This is a huge amount of waste and it is not always contained and removed correctly.

Clean Up Australia Day has been designed to provide Australians with a focus to get physically involved in cleaning up the rubbish in their environment as well as implementing positive environmental practices in their everyday lives. Volunteers clean up discarded rubbish in areas such as road ways, parks coastal areas rivers and streams to show that the Australian Environment is a priority for the community. Over 4300 areas in total have been attended to, with the most common items found being plastic and glass bottles, soft drink cans and cigarette butts (most of which can be recycled).

If you are interested in helping out, visit www.cleanup.org.au and find out how you can get involved!

So we are well into 2009….for everyone who’s New Year’s resolution to do a bit of a tidy up around your house or office, IT’S NOT TOO LATE! Daunting as it may be… But bookabin are here to help! We have many bin suppliers who service all over Australia, just itching to get your orders. Just simply go to www.bookabin.co.au and enter in your postcode. The next step is to enter in all your requirements such as the type of waste you want to dispose of, the size of the bin you want and the dates you would like to hire it. Our site will then automatically generate a quote of the best prices that best suits your needs.

Once the big clean up is finally done, you will all be free to enjoy the rest of you summer, frolicking at the beach, relaxing in your garden or enjoying a delicious barbeque. So c’mon Australia and take a load off and book a bin today!