An online department store says it is ‘cutting out the middle man’ by allowing customers to send everything from toys and homewares to trampolines and outdoor settings straight to landfill, saving friends and family the hassle of doing it themselves in January.
Under the scheme, shoppers buy Christmas gifts for friends and family as normal, then tick a ‘direct-to-landfill’ box at checkout. The store then pick the goods in the warehouse and places them onto a conveyor belt which leads to a hole in the ground. The goods are then crushed.
Head of Consumer Goods, Bob Pollock, said the system makes a lot of sense. “Why go to the trouble of receiving goods, wrapping them, and then lugging them around to your family’s Christmas lunch, only to see those presents out on the median strip for January’s hard rubbish? Under our new scheme, you can dispose of the crap without even having to touch it.”
Shopper Dawn Dickson says she believes the idea will take off. “I’ve told my family that I’ll be using the landfill system this year and, frankly, they’re relieved. Saves them having to fake a smile when they get some tacky BBQ utensils kit they don’t want”.
And if you plan to be away from home this Christmas, I suggest you take your phone off the hook to make it seem as if you're at home and on the line to someone. Why? Because I was recently contacted by someone purporting to be from the NBN who wanted to know when it would be a convenient time to maintain my NBN equipment. The Indian-sounding voice seemed to be especially interested when we would NOT be at home as their maintenance crew needed access to the house. When I told her that we're at home ALL THE TIME, she lost all interest.
Was this someone trying to case our place for a possible break-in? I wrote to the NBN and received this reply: "Hi Peter, the call you received wasn't from nbn. It's a known scam. nbn will never reach out to offer to maintain your equipment via phone calls. Please avoid sharing any personal or financial details with unknown callers. To learn more about staying safe, check out: nbn.tm/Protect Thanks, Lachlan"
Thank you, Lachlan, and stay safe! We will because we're staying home.
