That is the question I have been asking myself all week, after I drove home from work to discover my green bin had not been emptied because it was too heavy.

This is the same green bin  rolled out by Orange City Council in July to hold organic household waste. 

The same green bin ratepayers have been paying for since July 2012, but did not receive until July 2013. 

The green bin can hold 240 litres, yet apparently the garbage truck is only capable of lifting a garbage bin that is 80 kilograms. 

I did not use my green bin for weeks after receiving it, but as the weather warmed up I decided to clean up the garden. 

I filled my green bin with grass clippings and a few armloads of pesky snowbell bulbs that had overtaken the small garden plot. 

Admittedly it was heavy.

Very heavy.

But, it was not overflowing. It was not filled with bricks or rocks, just plants and grass.

If the bin is 240 litres, theoretically it should hold 240 kilograms. 

If the precious garbage truck cannot lift more than 80 kilograms, then the bins should not hold more than 80 kilograms. 

On another note, how does one weigh the bin before dragging it out on to the street for collection?

How on earth are you supposed to know if you have gone over the threshold?

I don’t think that is a job for the humble bathroom scales.

I spent the  afternoon elbow-deep in garden waste, dragging half the bin’s contents out and placing it in large pots, hoping I might reach the mystery  weight limit. 

I must have,  because the bin was emptied this week.