Lifelong Bunbury resident urges elderly people to put aside their pride and take advantage of bin service

A lifelong Bunbury resident has urged elderly people in the area to put aside their pride and not be afraid to ask for support when it comes to taking advantage of community services designed to make life easier. Christine McNamara is one of many residents living in Bunbury who have signed up to the City of Bunbury’s door-to-door residential bin collection service. The free helping hand is provided by the city’s waste operations team for the elderly and people with disabilities or mobility issues requiring help to put their bins out. On normal collection days for general waste, FOGO and recycling, the operator will retrieve bins from the property before emptying them as normal and returning them to the same spot. Mrs McNamara said the service was a “godsend” because her husband Trevor — a retired firefighter — has had a number of falls and was no longer comfortable going up and down their long driveway to put the bins out each week. “To get it down to the bottom wasn’t going to work for Trevor and my knees are not good at the moment,” she said. “They’re lovely people (the collectors) — nothing’s too much for them.” Mrs McNamara told the Times it was initially difficult to convince her husband to agree to sign up, as he struggled with asking for help. She said that feeling was particularly common among elderly men and wanted to help remove the stigma. “It all catches up with you and the men don’t see that,” Ms McNamara said. “They still think they’re young, because we don’t feel old. “In our mind we’re still 28 — so it’s coming to that realisation that if there’s something there, then be gracious and accept.” To access the door-to-door service, a letter of support from a medical practitioner is required along with an application to the City of Bunbury. The form can be found at the Door to Door Residential Bin Collection page on the City of Bunbury website.