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The problem of roadside litter - pointing to the need for a circular economy
GUEST: Ian Whan - retired resource economist and community campaigner
Introduction to this episode:
At the local level in S.E. Queensland most roadside litter in rural areas originates from passing vehicles. It looks bad, shows a lack of respect for the sensibilities of other road users and damages the environment. To compound the problem, no one is currently vested with responsibility for picking up roadside litter - and doing a clean up on the side of main roads is a risky and difficult undertaking.
At a bigger picture level these concerns link to acknowledgement that we must do better in controlling waste generally if we are to move to a more sustainable society, post COVID-19 and beyond. In that respect, Queensland’s new waste management and recycling plan for 2019 – 2022 provides a framework for the state to become a zero waste society, for example, by finding ways to reduce waste volumes overall, gaining more value from recovered materials, and only disposing of materials when no beneficial use remains in them. This plan envisages the opportunity to create jobs and economic prosperity whilst tackling the wider waste problem.
In this episode, our guest Ian Whan discusses some aspects of this very local problem - and its links to the regional and national challenge to achieve better control and utilisation of waste, both in terms of a post COVID-19 recovery response and as part of a longer term move to a prosperous, low carbon, circular economy.
Episode notes
Local government could have a role to play here by placing more public bins at strategic hotspots and discouraging the roadside dumping of used tyres. Such approaches might be also bolstered by a new approach to increased recycling of waste from local tip sites. For example, by the use of old and used tyres to make road coatings and other raw materials and in support for further research on the manufacture of steel where shredded tyres can replace coking coal.
In terms of a COVID-19 recovery economic stimulus to deal with long-term environmental problems a workforce could be created to deal with the roadside litter problem. The need to create new jobs for future waste reduction and control initiatives has already been implied in recent Queensland state government waste management, resource recovery and plastic pollution reduction plans. These plans now require rapid implementation – and bipartisan political support to ensure their continuation for the long term.
Behavioural and psychological change amongst citizens to support such initiatives needs to be in the mix. At a community level, this links to a recurring theme throughout this podcast series – of stimulating debate on the type of society we want post COVID-19. In terms of waste control we also need to help promote a bigger picture responsible citizen and planetary stewardship mindset, where the average citizen rejects the notion of waste, seen as a necessary evil of consumer culture – and adopts the idea that waste can be viewed as an economic opportunity, as a source of raw materials for diverse sectors of the economy. Rather than something simply to be thrown out of the window.
And perhaps behavioural economics and so-called ‘nudge theory’ might also help here. For example, the use of price signaling to support recycling by the consumer, in the form of container deposit schemes or single use plastic taxes to discourage consumption or to subsidise a switch to replace standard plastic with biodegradable packaging.
Who should take overall responsibility for the litter reduction and waste management problem?
Perhaps we need a whole of community response, but it is heartening to note that the Queensland state government has shown a lead here and has produced a number of recent and relevant strategies and policies. It is to be hoped that these will gain active implementation over the next couple of years and that they will receive bipartisan political support in the state.
A bigger picture link between problems of litter/ waste reduction and climate change?
A lot of litter comes from single use plastic and this will have to be tackled at a national and international level if the local and regional problem of litter is to be curbed effectively. There is reporting that major oil companies are increasingly switching their business models from fossil fuel production to using oil as a feedstock for greatly increased plastic production. In a world of ever-increasing volumes of plastic, will any strategy for waste control be effective without imposing controls on the supply of the ultimately polluting raw material (single use plastic) in the first place?
Guest and other contact details:
Guest:
Ian Whan, from the Felton Valley near Toowoomba,
Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE):
Tel: 07 4639 2135
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.hopeaustralia.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Householders.Options.to.Protect.the.Environment/
Production:
Produced for HOPE by Andrew Nicholson. This episode recorded in Toowoomba, S.E. Queensland, Australia on September 29th, 2020.
Artwork: Daniela Dal'Castel Incidental Music: James Nicholson
View all episodes
By Householders’ Options to Protect the EnvironmentGUEST: Ian Whan - retired resource economist and community campaigner
Introduction to this episode:
At the local level in S.E. Queensland most roadside litter in rural areas originates from passing vehicles. It looks bad, shows a lack of respect for the sensibilities of other road users and damages the environment. To compound the problem, no one is currently vested with responsibility for picking up roadside litter - and doing a clean up on the side of main roads is a risky and difficult undertaking.
At a bigger picture level these concerns link to acknowledgement that we must do better in controlling waste generally if we are to move to a more sustainable society, post COVID-19 and beyond. In that respect, Queensland’s new waste management and recycling plan for 2019 – 2022 provides a framework for the state to become a zero waste society, for example, by finding ways to reduce waste volumes overall, gaining more value from recovered materials, and only disposing of materials when no beneficial use remains in them. This plan envisages the opportunity to create jobs and economic prosperity whilst tackling the wider waste problem.
In this episode, our guest Ian Whan discusses some aspects of this very local problem - and its links to the regional and national challenge to achieve better control and utilisation of waste, both in terms of a post COVID-19 recovery response and as part of a longer term move to a prosperous, low carbon, circular economy.
Episode notes
Local government could have a role to play here by placing more public bins at strategic hotspots and discouraging the roadside dumping of used tyres. Such approaches might be also bolstered by a new approach to increased recycling of waste from local tip sites. For example, by the use of old and used tyres to make road coatings and other raw materials and in support for further research on the manufacture of steel where shredded tyres can replace coking coal.
In terms of a COVID-19 recovery economic stimulus to deal with long-term environmental problems a workforce could be created to deal with the roadside litter problem. The need to create new jobs for future waste reduction and control initiatives has already been implied in recent Queensland state government waste management, resource recovery and plastic pollution reduction plans. These plans now require rapid implementation – and bipartisan political support to ensure their continuation for the long term.
Behavioural and psychological change amongst citizens to support such initiatives needs to be in the mix. At a community level, this links to a recurring theme throughout this podcast series – of stimulating debate on the type of society we want post COVID-19. In terms of waste control we also need to help promote a bigger picture responsible citizen and planetary stewardship mindset, where the average citizen rejects the notion of waste, seen as a necessary evil of consumer culture – and adopts the idea that waste can be viewed as an economic opportunity, as a source of raw materials for diverse sectors of the economy. Rather than something simply to be thrown out of the window.
And perhaps behavioural economics and so-called ‘nudge theory’ might also help here. For example, the use of price signaling to support recycling by the consumer, in the form of container deposit schemes or single use plastic taxes to discourage consumption or to subsidise a switch to replace standard plastic with biodegradable packaging.
Who should take overall responsibility for the litter reduction and waste management problem?
Perhaps we need a whole of community response, but it is heartening to note that the Queensland state government has shown a lead here and has produced a number of recent and relevant strategies and policies. It is to be hoped that these will gain active implementation over the next couple of years and that they will receive bipartisan political support in the state.
A bigger picture link between problems of litter/ waste reduction and climate change?
A lot of litter comes from single use plastic and this will have to be tackled at a national and international level if the local and regional problem of litter is to be curbed effectively. There is reporting that major oil companies are increasingly switching their business models from fossil fuel production to using oil as a feedstock for greatly increased plastic production. In a world of ever-increasing volumes of plastic, will any strategy for waste control be effective without imposing controls on the supply of the ultimately polluting raw material (single use plastic) in the first place?
Guest and other contact details:
Guest:
Ian Whan, from the Felton Valley near Toowoomba,
Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE):
Tel: 07 4639 2135
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.hopeaustralia.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Householders.Options.to.Protect.the.Environment/
Production:
Produced for HOPE by Andrew Nicholson. This episode recorded in Toowoomba, S.E. Queensland, Australia on September 29th, 2020.
Artwork: Daniela Dal'Castel Incidental Music: James Nicholson