🟠 Idle drivers and glass blowouts

Also including: The best new coffee shops across Knox

Author

Matthew Sims
April 29, 2026

⏱️ The 132nd edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🚛 A separate glass recycling bin has been in the State Government’s plans since 2020. However, for a number of councils across Melbourne’s east, it’s a pill they’re not willing to swallow just yet, mainly citing cost concerns and how it would boost the rates for average homeowners.

❓ So, what do you reckon? Would you mind spending a bit extra each year to use a glass bin?

Today we’re covering:

“I like the egalitarianism of footy — that everybody's equal. You could work in the sewers or be a merchant banker, but everyone’s equal if you put your head over the ball.”

Marcellin Old Collegians Football Club president Paul Harvey

WHAT’S COMING UP 🎟️

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

Shifts in interest from younger players, along with older players retiring, are pushing many amateur and community football clubs to the brink.

Now, two clubs in eastern Melbourne are fighting to rebuild in a changing landscape.

On April 14, the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) confirmed Box Hill North Football Club would not field any open-age men’s or women’s teams in 2026, entering a period of recess.

Two days later, the club released a statement describing the outcome, which followed weeks of negotiations with the VAFA, as “disappointing”.

Marcellin Old Collegians Football Club president Paul Harvey has only been in the role for five weeks, but his ties to the club span more than 350 games as a player, and coaching the senior women’s team over the past three seasons.

Harvey said a key issue was the lack of pathways for younger players.

The last season in which the club fielded an under-19s team was 2023, with declining interest and higher-level clubs with higher budgets attracting young talent contributing to dwindling player numbers.

“If you don’t have under-19s, you don’t have a future,” said Harvey. “You need that injection of youth, otherwise you end up with an ageing team and can’t compete.”

Harvey said the club was now working to re-establish an under-19s side.

In February 2025, Nunawading Lions Football Netball Club announced it would not field a senior men’s or development team due to a number of player retirements and poor results on the ladder for a number of years.

Senior men’s coach Thomas Flood said the club has since rebuilt, drawing players from its under-19s program and surplus players from Berwick.

“Without that relationship, we wouldn’t have the ability to exist this year,” Flood told the Eastern Melburnian.

Flood said only a few committee members from a decade ago remain, leaving the 2026 squad as a “fledgling entity”.

“We’re hopeful for the future,” said Flood.

Boroondara ratepayers could face annual fee increases of up to $46 per household if the council introduces a mandatory glass recycling bin, prompting the council to join 33 others in asking the State Government to push back its July 2027 deadline.

The idea for a glass-only bin first appeared in the State Government’s Recycling Victoria plan, released in 2020, which said all households would have access to glass recycling by 2027.

Since then, 42 councils have introduced separate glass recycling services.

According to the plan, all councils must have a separate glass recycling service in place by July 1, 2027.

However, several eastern Melbourne councils — including Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Whitehorse, Monash, Yarra Ranges and Boroondara — have opposed the mandate.

Recycling glass separately reduces the risk of contamination – shards of broken glass entering the main recycling stream and damaging paper and cardboard and sending more waste to landfill.

Among local councils, cost has been a common cause of opposition against the new glass recycling bin, with estimates on the initial cost burden including $3.7 million, or $59 per household, in Knox, and $6.5 million, or $46 per household, in Boroondara.

Maroondah mayor Linda Hancock said the opposing councils would instead support expanding Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) to include wine and spirit bottles.

Since November 2023, Victoria’s CDS has allowed residents to return eligible drink containers, including some glass bottles such as beer and cider, for a 10-cent refund.

VicReturn chief executive Matt Davis said there are no current plans to expand the scheme, as this is a decision for the State Government.

“Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme complements existing council kerbside recycling services, including the purple glass bins offered in some Victorian LGAs,” Davis told the Eastern Melburnian.

John*, a 27-year-old man who drives full-time for Uber, says the job is taking a toll on his mental health as he lives pay cheque to pay cheque amid falling demand, rising fuel costs and high commission fees.

The limited supply and rising demand of fuel due to the Middle East conflict has pushed petrol and diesel prices to above the $2 a litre mark for weeks now.

A painful additional cost for many to bear as the cost of living increases, the price hike has been particularly felt by those who rely on their vehicles for work.

John said he had turned to driving for Uber full-time late last year due to health issues and the flexibility of rideshare work.

However, he said his earnings quickly declined due to the expenses of renting a car for $400 a week and spending up to $150 on fuel.

“I’d be lucky to make $50 to $75 a shift, sometimes working for as little as $5 an hour,” he said.

In one earning report seen by the Eastern Melburnian, out of 21 hours of waiting for trips on the app, John was only actively working for about eight hours, earning around $15 an hour – $10 below the current minimum wage.

“This has had a dramatic impact on my mental health,” said John. “Living pay cheque to pay cheque isn’t what I had hoped for. At this rate, it would be cheaper to return the vehicle, buy a tent and live among the homeless population of Melbourne.”

On April 13, Uber and the Transport Workers Union made a joint announcement that Uber customers would pay an extra five cents per kilometre (excluding electric vehicles) from April 15 to June 8.

According to Uber Australia managing director, Emma Foley, the fuel surcharge aimed to “provide driver partners temporary relief in response to the current fuel crisis”, with all earnings from the surcharge going directly to drivers.

However, John said this had done little to offset Uber’s 27.5 percent commission, calling for the company to consider reducing its commission to 15 or 10 percent to improve service delivery.

“The better condition the drivers and vehicle is kept in, the safer it will be for passengers to get to their destination – without drivers being over-worked, overcharged and overtaxed,” said John.

* Name changed

People living with dementia in the Croydon area, as well as their carers, can now use a new fortnightly support space, as aged care service Olivet Care launches a new “dementia cafe” to address a gap in local support.

Launching on Tuesday April 28, Olive Branch Cafe is a space where people with dementia can gather without judgement and build connections with their peers.

Access to the space costs $30 per couple per term and the program will run every second Tuesday from 10.30am to 12.30pm during school terms at Yarrunga Community Centre – 76-86 Croydon Hills Drive, Croydon Hills.

Numbers are limited to about 10 couples per term.

Olivet Care day centre wellbeing carer Angela Welch said the service aims to support both the person with dementia and their carers.

“There'll be a space for the carers to go off separately, and they can support each other - or if they want, we'll get speakers in,” Welch told the Eastern Melburnian. “Everyone will get to make some connections and it’ll feel like a really nice place to come.”

Noelene Huxtable, day centre manager at Olivet Care, said people living with dementia and their carers often stop going out into the community due to fear of others’ reactions or opinions.

“We find that a lot of the clients that do come to the day centre, a lot of them are living with dementia … and the carers are just exhausted and feel bad because they're using a respite service,” said Huxtable. “It's really important that they reach out for a bit of help early on and have the support by creating a little community; having the support of others is really important.”

☕️ LOCAL LIFESTYLE 🍔

The best coffee spots in Knox

There has been significant growth in the number of coffee shops around Knox recently, with over 20 new cafes opened in the past five years.

Contributor Thomas Spencer highlighted some of the area’s newest caffeine hubs to check out on your next stroll.

The best coffee spots for you to check out in Knox

From a bakery to a chocolate shop, here’s some of the places where you can grab a long black or a cappuccino to perk you up.

Thanks for sticking around to the end of this mid-week edition!

If turning on the six o’clock news often fills you with dread, or it seems like there are nothing but bad news stories out there, then we hope to provide a bit of an antidote. Is there a corner of your neighbourhood that is improving?

Let us know by replying to this email or contacting [email protected].

Cheers,

Matthew