SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS By the Granite Belt Sustainable Action Network
Many household and garden chemicals are classified as hazardous. Examples of toxic chemicals are cleaners, pool chemicals, alkalis, solvents, paint strippers, insecticides, herbicides, PFAS- containing waterproofing and stain-resistant sprays, and pesticides – any product labelled as poison.
These chemicals are, without question, best kept out of the environment, and placing them in the waste stream is dangerous to people and wildlife.
Some of these chemicals, especially the PFAS or “forever” chemicals, accumulate up the food chain and can now be detected in wildlife populations. Since 1950, there has been a 50-fold increase in the amount of synthetic chemicals produced and scientists now say that humanity has crossed the planetary boundary for chemical pollution, leading to disruption of both human and animal hormone systems, metabolism and reproduction.
The current system of household chemical waste treatment within the Southern Downs places residents in an impossible position – where chemical waste is not accepted in kerbside bins or at any of the waste facilities, but no scheme exists for residents to safely dispose of household chemicals. Council has proposed that residents use a private contractor to dispose of household poisons, but this is a prohibitively expensive and difficult option (as GBSAN discovered when they asked for a quote) and very few residents could afford to pursue this. The reality is that the bulk of these chemicals end up in the bin or tipped down the drain, precisely where they shouldn’t be.
When GBSAN presented their Household Chemical Waste Proposal to Southern Downs Regional Council’s Environment and Planning Services almost one year ago, it was well received by officers.
The benefits of such a scheme were immediately apparent, so much so that they committed to prioritising the idea in the 2023 budget. It was very disappointing, then, to have the elected councillors vote down the scheme, effectively voting for a continuation of toxic waste to be dumped into our environment. GBSAN can only conclude that the councillors do not understand the full importance of a household chemical waste collection scheme.
Perhaps they also do not understand that the AgVet chemical scheme ChemClear does not accept household chemical waste. That’s why we have again presented our proposal to the councillors, to explain why a Household Chemical Waste Scheme is very important. T
he proposed scheme is for the council to host free chemical hand-in days for residents in convenient locations across the region every six months.
If you would like to read our full proposal to the Southern Downs Regional Council you can access it through the GBSAN website and send an email to the council asking that they provide a safe and free scheme to dispose of hazardous household chemicals, as many other local authorities have done.
