00:00:00
Speaker 1: Well, vapes, should they be banned, should they be prescribed? They're seldom out of the news. Well they're in the news again. The chair of Clean Up Austrada, Pipkin and joins me. Pep good morning to you. Thanks for being with us today.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Good morning, Graham.
00:00:13
Speaker 1: What's the concern from Clean Up Australia's point of view regarding e cigarettes vapes?
00:00:19
Speaker 2: So we've just released annual Litter Report, which is a snapshot of what our volunteers collect through the year, and vapes has come out for the first time. It's on the top ten items collected in terms of the items of lister that our volunteers collect. And we refer to vates as the triple threat to the environment because they're actually plastic waste, E waste because they have the embedded battery and hazardous waste, so they don't belong in the environment and people are confused about what to do with them.
00:00:50
Speaker 1: And that's the issue, isn't it. I Mean, the first instinct is someone I assume not being a vape smoker, but you know, you just chuck it in the bin. Obviously that's the wrong thing to do.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: That's absolutely the wrong thing to do. And that's what's contributing to a lot of the fires in garbage trucks and waste facilities. They absolutely can't go in the curb side bin and they can't be just tossed into the environment. You need to check with your local council and take them to a particular drop off point. Look at berries where you live. It's a different rule depending on where you live. So it is confusing for the consumer, and it's a great example of the need for a product's jewidship scheme where there is responsibility to those bringing them into the country or manufacturing them to safely just collect them and dispose of them that they're at the end of their life.
00:01:40
Speaker 1: There certainly should be a universal, a national law affecting them. You know, state boundary shouldn't mean, you know, you can do different things with votes or any waste at all for that.
00:01:49
Speaker 2: Anyways, that's right, and you know, the little reports showed us this year that again it's plastics that are the predominant litter item out in the environment. It's eighty percent of what's collected is plastic, with the big offenders being soft plastics and cigarette butts. And cigarette butts are one that we often don't think of as being plastic, but they are, and so they don't break down. They break into smaller and smaller fragments.
00:02:15
Speaker 1: Now, tell us about batteries in vapes blay cause real issues, Yeah, they do.
00:02:22
Speaker 2: And look, so many products now have embedded batteries and so it's hard for the consumers to remove them and safely recycle the batteries. And we do have good collection points across the country for batteries, but it's a little bit trickier with bakes because they are embedded and harder to get out. But you know, they're lifty in batteries, and these items when they're crushed can ignite. So that's why we see the problems with them ending up in the curb side bin and then getting into the garbage truck.
00:02:53
Speaker 1: I mean, I can see it's a it's a pretty serious issue without an obvious solution. It seems like there's needs to be a round table from all vested parties and come up with a game plan.
00:03:04
Speaker 2: H Yeah, that's right. There needs to be a national scheme that's consistent across the country so that there's points for the consumer to take it for safe disposal, you know, and reprocessing of these because again we don't want waste resources. We want things recycled and turned into new items and given a second life.
00:03:26
Speaker 1: I think most people want to do the right thing. So what is your advice to someone who vapes? What should they do when they use vape?
00:03:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, don't put it in the curb side bin, don't toss it in the environment. Check with your local council about where you can take it, and you know, sometimes it's as easy as your library. Some suburb a collection point is at the library. Others it's at the local recycling center. So just check out where you can take it and keep it in a glass jar till you get it there and then safely dispose of it.
00:03:57
Speaker 1: Do you know of federal state governments take issue seriously?
00:04:01
Speaker 3: Oh?
00:04:02
Speaker 2: Absolutely. The federal government has introduced legislation July last year that single use baates are not sold. They need to be reusable baits and they're sold through pharmacies only. But you know this is our reports looking at last financial years, so FI twenty four is data. So of course they're still in the environment, and there are ones that are sold here illegally, so it's a difficult one to control. I mean, I will point out that E waste in the report, it's still a more smaller proportion than other types of waste, that makes up zero point eight percent of the litter types reported, but it is growing and baits are growing, so we do need to pay attention to it. But the biggest culprit in terms of litter items is plastic. As I've said soft plastics in particular on.
00:04:51
Speaker 1: That line, not that it affects Australia directly, but what do you think of Donald Trump getting rid of paper stores and going back to plastic.
00:04:58
Speaker 2: Well, I find that very concern and a real step backwards. I mean, we really need to stop this over reliance and over production of single use plastics, and we know that facing them out in Australia has worked. In South Australia, straws have shown a significant decrease in the amount that our volunteer is picking up, so we know this is working and it would be a step backward to reintroduce them. We need to take away this reliance on things that we used for a few seconds and then toss away and items that very easily end up as litter in the environment and they're damaging to our marine and wildlife.
00:05:37
Speaker 1: Good point. Can't but agree. Thanks for your time for that.
00:05:41
Speaker 2: Thanks so much, and not too late to register for Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday the second of March. You can do that at our website at cleanup dot org dot AU timely advice.
00:05:52
Speaker 1: Good on your Pip, thanks.
00:05:52
Speaker 2: For that, Thanks so much.
00:05:55
Speaker 1: That's pep Cairn and clean Up Australia and yeah, you can register and want to help clean up Australia keep our country beautiful, which it is twenty two minutes to ten on five double A still to come. The story of the anti Semitic nurses. The Australian journalist Liam Mendes went to speak with the family of one of the nurses and was well, we'd say vocally accosted and on the verge of being physically accosted. And we'll talk to him about that, and we'll also speak with Adelais Jewish leader Norman Schuler. But just a horrendous state of affairs when in Australia we have two nurses working at the Bankstown Hospital who are openly saying that they would happily kill Israeli patients. Quite a disturbing situation. This is what the New South Wales Health Minister had to say about it.
00:06:44
Speaker 3: I was informed and made aware of one of the most vile, shocking and appalling videos I have ever seen. Two individual healthcare workers behaving in a way that I never thought I would see representing one of our New South Wales hospitals. This video is disgusting, it is shocking, it is appalling, and I say to the people of New South Wales, but in particular.
00:07:17
Speaker 4: To the Jewish community, I as the New South Wales South Minister and Susan as the Secretary, I'm so very sorry that you're having to deal with this this morning.
00:07:32
Speaker 1: That's Ryan Park, the New South Wales Health Minister, and we'll have more on the issue of the two nurses. They haven't been charged as yet, but I believe police are looking into the matter. They've asked to see the entire videotape. What was put on social media was edited and before I think they want to take the next step. They want to see the videotape in its entirety, which is quite reasonable. Good morning Graham. How many people who vape do you think go to the library? I am guessing not many. Thank you for that Webby. Why don't shops that sell vapes have collection bins for vapes. That's an interesting point, isn't it. If they're being distributed from a shop, why couldn't they be collected at the shop and disposed of in a good way. Five Double A Mornings with Graham Goodings
Speaker 1: Well, vapes, should they be banned, should they be prescribed? They're seldom out of the news. Well they're in the news again. The chair of Clean Up Austrada, Pipkin and joins me. Pep good morning to you. Thanks for being with us today.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Good morning, Graham.
00:00:13
Speaker 1: What's the concern from Clean Up Australia's point of view regarding e cigarettes vapes?
00:00:19
Speaker 2: So we've just released annual Litter Report, which is a snapshot of what our volunteers collect through the year, and vapes has come out for the first time. It's on the top ten items collected in terms of the items of lister that our volunteers collect. And we refer to vates as the triple threat to the environment because they're actually plastic waste, E waste because they have the embedded battery and hazardous waste, so they don't belong in the environment and people are confused about what to do with them.
00:00:50
Speaker 1: And that's the issue, isn't it. I Mean, the first instinct is someone I assume not being a vape smoker, but you know, you just chuck it in the bin. Obviously that's the wrong thing to do.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: That's absolutely the wrong thing to do. And that's what's contributing to a lot of the fires in garbage trucks and waste facilities. They absolutely can't go in the curb side bin and they can't be just tossed into the environment. You need to check with your local council and take them to a particular drop off point. Look at berries where you live. It's a different rule depending on where you live. So it is confusing for the consumer, and it's a great example of the need for a product's jewidship scheme where there is responsibility to those bringing them into the country or manufacturing them to safely just collect them and dispose of them that they're at the end of their life.
00:01:40
Speaker 1: There certainly should be a universal, a national law affecting them. You know, state boundary shouldn't mean, you know, you can do different things with votes or any waste at all for that.
00:01:49
Speaker 2: Anyways, that's right, and you know, the little reports showed us this year that again it's plastics that are the predominant litter item out in the environment. It's eighty percent of what's collected is plastic, with the big offenders being soft plastics and cigarette butts. And cigarette butts are one that we often don't think of as being plastic, but they are, and so they don't break down. They break into smaller and smaller fragments.
00:02:15
Speaker 1: Now, tell us about batteries in vapes blay cause real issues, Yeah, they do.
00:02:22
Speaker 2: And look, so many products now have embedded batteries and so it's hard for the consumers to remove them and safely recycle the batteries. And we do have good collection points across the country for batteries, but it's a little bit trickier with bakes because they are embedded and harder to get out. But you know, they're lifty in batteries, and these items when they're crushed can ignite. So that's why we see the problems with them ending up in the curb side bin and then getting into the garbage truck.
00:02:53
Speaker 1: I mean, I can see it's a it's a pretty serious issue without an obvious solution. It seems like there's needs to be a round table from all vested parties and come up with a game plan.
00:03:04
Speaker 2: H Yeah, that's right. There needs to be a national scheme that's consistent across the country so that there's points for the consumer to take it for safe disposal, you know, and reprocessing of these because again we don't want waste resources. We want things recycled and turned into new items and given a second life.
00:03:26
Speaker 1: I think most people want to do the right thing. So what is your advice to someone who vapes? What should they do when they use vape?
00:03:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, don't put it in the curb side bin, don't toss it in the environment. Check with your local council about where you can take it, and you know, sometimes it's as easy as your library. Some suburb a collection point is at the library. Others it's at the local recycling center. So just check out where you can take it and keep it in a glass jar till you get it there and then safely dispose of it.
00:03:57
Speaker 1: Do you know of federal state governments take issue seriously?
00:04:01
Speaker 3: Oh?
00:04:02
Speaker 2: Absolutely. The federal government has introduced legislation July last year that single use baates are not sold. They need to be reusable baits and they're sold through pharmacies only. But you know this is our reports looking at last financial years, so FI twenty four is data. So of course they're still in the environment, and there are ones that are sold here illegally, so it's a difficult one to control. I mean, I will point out that E waste in the report, it's still a more smaller proportion than other types of waste, that makes up zero point eight percent of the litter types reported, but it is growing and baits are growing, so we do need to pay attention to it. But the biggest culprit in terms of litter items is plastic. As I've said soft plastics in particular on.
00:04:51
Speaker 1: That line, not that it affects Australia directly, but what do you think of Donald Trump getting rid of paper stores and going back to plastic.
00:04:58
Speaker 2: Well, I find that very concern and a real step backwards. I mean, we really need to stop this over reliance and over production of single use plastics, and we know that facing them out in Australia has worked. In South Australia, straws have shown a significant decrease in the amount that our volunteer is picking up, so we know this is working and it would be a step backward to reintroduce them. We need to take away this reliance on things that we used for a few seconds and then toss away and items that very easily end up as litter in the environment and they're damaging to our marine and wildlife.
00:05:37
Speaker 1: Good point. Can't but agree. Thanks for your time for that.
00:05:41
Speaker 2: Thanks so much, and not too late to register for Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday the second of March. You can do that at our website at cleanup dot org dot AU timely advice.
00:05:52
Speaker 1: Good on your Pip, thanks.
00:05:52
Speaker 2: For that, Thanks so much.
00:05:55
Speaker 1: That's pep Cairn and clean Up Australia and yeah, you can register and want to help clean up Australia keep our country beautiful, which it is twenty two minutes to ten on five double A still to come. The story of the anti Semitic nurses. The Australian journalist Liam Mendes went to speak with the family of one of the nurses and was well, we'd say vocally accosted and on the verge of being physically accosted. And we'll talk to him about that, and we'll also speak with Adelais Jewish leader Norman Schuler. But just a horrendous state of affairs when in Australia we have two nurses working at the Bankstown Hospital who are openly saying that they would happily kill Israeli patients. Quite a disturbing situation. This is what the New South Wales Health Minister had to say about it.
00:06:44
Speaker 3: I was informed and made aware of one of the most vile, shocking and appalling videos I have ever seen. Two individual healthcare workers behaving in a way that I never thought I would see representing one of our New South Wales hospitals. This video is disgusting, it is shocking, it is appalling, and I say to the people of New South Wales, but in particular.
00:07:17
Speaker 4: To the Jewish community, I as the New South Wales South Minister and Susan as the Secretary, I'm so very sorry that you're having to deal with this this morning.
00:07:32
Speaker 1: That's Ryan Park, the New South Wales Health Minister, and we'll have more on the issue of the two nurses. They haven't been charged as yet, but I believe police are looking into the matter. They've asked to see the entire videotape. What was put on social media was edited and before I think they want to take the next step. They want to see the videotape in its entirety, which is quite reasonable. Good morning Graham. How many people who vape do you think go to the library? I am guessing not many. Thank you for that Webby. Why don't shops that sell vapes have collection bins for vapes. That's an interesting point, isn't it. If they're being distributed from a shop, why couldn't they be collected at the shop and disposed of in a good way. Five Double A Mornings with Graham Goodings
