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New York City mocked for only just discovering wheelie bins

<p>New York City has been trolled online after discovering wheelie bins for the first time. </p> <p>In order to tackle the "trash revolution", the mayor of NYC Eric Adams announced that wheelie bins will be introduced city wide, instead of the current system which is just leaving rubbish bags on the street.</p> <p>Despite the introduction of wheelie bins being a great solution for the city's trash and rodent problem, many were shocked to learn that the receptacles don't already exist there. </p> <p>Introducing the roll out, Mayor Adams began his press conference rolling in a bin and proudly demonstrating how to use it before celebrating with colleagues.</p> <p>He said “many people thought it was impossible” that these wheelie bins were going to be part of the city’s “trash revolution”.</p> <p>“We all have one unified dislike, and those are those pesky New York City rats,” Mr Adams said.</p> <p>“They’re getting more and more bold. They no longer run from you. They just hang out and just do what they want. We want to make sure we change that in a real way.”</p> <p>NYC department of sanitation commissioner Jessica Tisch described the official NYC bin as a “beautiful, rat-fighting piece of engineering” to conquer the estimated three million rats that dominate the streets. </p> <p>The wheelie bin announcement, which was intended to impress New Yorkers, has also gone global – with Europeans and Australians baffled by concept of wheelie bins being new.</p> <p>“Oh my word! Are they seriously showing their constituents how to use a trash can?” wrote one person.</p> <p>“Huh, they don’t have wheelie bins? What century do they live in?” said a second.</p> <p>“How the hell is this revolutionary??” agreed another.</p> <p>“So they finally figured out putting your trash in piles on the sidewalk is not a good idea,” mocked someone else.</p> <p><em>Image credits: X (Twitter) </em></p>

Home & Garden

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How to deep clean your kitchen bin

<p>Cleaning the kitchen bin is household chore that can be easily overlooked until a stench begins to creep into your home.</p> <p>To rid your bin of the odour, follow these deep cleaning steps so that you can have a fresh-smelling and clean kitchen bin.</p> <p><strong>1. Put on your rubber gloves</strong></p> <p>Cleaning a bin requires you to handle an object that has been full of food scraps and questionable liquids, it is best to wear some rubber gloves to protect you from the germs.</p> <p><strong>2. Empty the bin</strong></p> <p>Begin by emptying your bin and ensuring that there are no lingering food particles in the bottom. Your main objective is to remove any gunk that can be seen.</p> <p><strong>3. Wash the bin</strong></p> <p>If you have access to an outside area, take your bin outside and hose it down. If you can only clean your bin indoors, then you can do this in the bathtub. Once the bin has been rinsed, pat it down with paper towel.</p> <p><strong>4. Spray with disinfectant</strong></p> <p>Using a disinfectant cleaner of your preference, generously spray down the inside and outside of your bin. Also include the top and bottom of the bin as you spray.</p> <p><strong>5. Scrub the bin</strong></p> <p>Use a toilet brush or other long-handled nylon bristle brush to scrub your bin thoroughly. After you have finished scrubbing all over, let the disinfectant cleaner sit for five minutes.</p> <p><strong>6. Rinse and dry</strong></p> <p>After the five minutes has passed, rinse the can thoroughly. Depending on what you prefer, let the bin dry in the sun or dry it with a towel.</p> <p>Once you have deep cleaned your bin, maintain your hard work by wiping down the inside and outside of the bin with disinfectant spray every time you empty the trash can.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Home & Garden

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How to build timber covers for wheelie bins

<p>The Sekit flat-packed system, from Bunnings (bunnings.com.au), uses ACQ treated pine and takes an hour to assemble, fitting 120 and 240 litre bins.</p> <p>A single bin cover measures 670 x 810 x 1200mm, and the double is 1340 x 810 x 1200mm.</p> <div id="firstFloatAd"> <div data-fuse="21928626849"> </div> <div data-fuse="21699960946"> </div> </div> <p>Simple latch bolts keep the doors secured and a chain joins the bin handles to the covers so both lids are raised simultaneously, making rubbish disposal much more hygienic.</p> <p>TIP – To remove the bins on collection day, unhook the lid chains before opening the doors.A chain connects the bin</p> <p>ASSEMBLE THE FRAME positioning the dividing frame against the side panels and adding the front and back supports, securing with the supplied screws. Square up the frame and secure the two diagonal back supports.</p> <div id="lastFloatAd"> <div data-fuse="21928512968"> </div> <div data-fuse="22652288252"> </div> </div> <p>INSTALL THE LIDS by aligning the holes on the lid with the holes in the frame then insert the supplied bolts, securing the outside bolts with the washer and nut and the inside bolts using a Phillips head screwdriver.</p> <p>ATTACH THE DOORS by aligning the top hinge and securing with a screw at the top, attach the base hinge, checking the door is parallel with the side then secure the second screw at the top and attach the latch bolts.</p> <p><em>Image: Bunnings</em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

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Bin Laden's notorious Pink Palace up for sale

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ibrahim bin Laden, Osama bin Laden’s brother, has listed his Bel Air mansion for sale, with an asking price of $AUD 38.1 million ($US 28 million) according to the </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://nypost.com/2021/07/30/osama-bin-ladens-bel-air-estate-is-on-sale-for-28m/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">New York Post</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Property records show that Ibrahim, the older half-brother of the late terrorist, has owned the property for nearly four decades.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When he purchased the Mediterranean-style mansion in 1983, Ibrahim spent $US 163,000 at the time - equating to roughly $US 5.5 million after adjusting for inflation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the home has been unoccupied since the September 11 attacks in 2001.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ibrahim was vacationing overseas at the time of the attack, but never returned to the US.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The listing describes the home as “ready for redoing, owner has not been here for over 20 years”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since the property has been long abandoned, interior photos of the home are hard to find, and the hefty price tag is based on “land value only” and location, rather than the state of the home itself.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The almost 100-year-old home, in the prestigious lower Bel Air neighbourhood, spans 600 sqm and sits on more than 8100 sqm of land.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The seven-bedroom, five-bathroom mansion was built in 1931 and features an unusual exterior of concrete that has been painted pink.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The property was previously owned by Hollywood producer Arthur Freed, who produced </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Wizard of Oz</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">An American in Paris</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Singin’ in the Rain</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ibrahim lived in the home with his former wife, Christine Hartunian Sinay, and employed “full-time groundskeepers, household help, chauffeurs, and private security”, according to Steve Coll’s biography, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Realtor.com</span></em></p>

Real Estate

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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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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>

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