 When you buy 1 to 20 litres of architectural or decorative paint in Australia now you’ll be paying an in-built levy of 15 cents per litre. This levy charge funds the non-for-profit company Paintback Ltd. As from 1st May 2016 Paintback became responsible for the safe disposal of waste paint and paint tins. Disposal use to be the responsibility of State and Territory Governments but under their schemes only half of all waste paint was disposed of responsibility, which meant an awful lot of paint ended up in landfill and other non-legit locations.
Waste paint that's dumped in unauthorised locations, like many other toxic substances; contaminates the soil, has a high chance of entering our waterways, and is detrimental to the health of our native flora and fauna, and ultimately our health. Paintback will collect waste paint from paint drop-off locations around Australia and will dispose of it appropriately. In Ballarat our drop-off location is the Transfer Station on Gillies Street South. Paintback also plan to do a whole heap of other work. They’ll be increasing the number of drop off locations so there’ll be a drop-off location within a reasonable distance to 85% of Australians. Setting up more drop-off locations and establishing mobile pick-up points will achieve this. They’ll run educational campaigns, research new ways to repurpose waste paint, and also fund research so they can find better uses for waste paint. They will continue to work collaboratively between industry and government, and will welcome new companies to join them. The development of Paintback Ltd didn’t happen over night. It came about after a lot of planning and collaboration between industry and Government. Paintback is a Paint Stewardship Scheme and is supported by the Federal Environment Minister under the Product Stewardship Act 2011. This Act is designed to help reduce waste and to prevent toxic substances ending up in landfill, while also increasing recycling and the recovery of valuable materials from products. Lets hope more industries develop such schemes to close the loop, and that consumers support them. So...your role in all this? Don’t dump paint in the bin. Make sure you take your waste paints to the Transfer Stations for appropriate disposal. This is the link to the Paintback website. They also include a few other products in their scheme so be sure to familiarise yourself with these and pass the word around your network. (information sources used in this post are here, here, and here)
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When I hear something inspirational, I want to share it with others. When something touches the depths of my being, I want it touch others in the same powerful way. These inspirational experiences are never related to the latest trends on the shop shelves, showroom floors, or displayed in bright flashing advertising lights. These experiences always come from people who have a passion for this amazing planet we live on, a passion for nature. When they talk, they talk about the things that have steered them to amazing places. Whether it’s going into the minuscule details of a species of ant from their backyard, or to the intriguing dark depths of our oceans. No matter their life’s interest, when they talk, it’s all passion. When their passion is deep with sorrow and a yearning for the people on this planet to change their behaviour, well, I don’t know how anyone can ignore them and their message. Especially when it has to do with our very existence. One person who inspires is the amazing 81 year old Sylvia Earle. Sylvia and Simran Sethi talked about ‘hope’ at the WOMADelaide Festival last year. Their topic focused on the health of our oceans. Sylvia is a wonderful ambassador for our oceans. She knows more about the life in our oceans than the majority of people on this planet, and is keen to share her knowledge with us. Unfortunately the health of our oceans is under threat, and with elegance, Sylvia talks us through this issue. I’m hoping this is enough information to get you to click on this link to hear Sylvia speak. Today is Mothers day; it’s the day we show gratitude to our mothers. Let us ALL show gratitude to the earth. My favourite quote: "In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught" (Baba Dioum) Sincerely, Donna The beautiful thing about technology is that it’s super easy for people to stream or download interviews. Plug the headphones in, press play, and listen while doing one of those tasks at home when the mind can be switched to auto-pilot. Link - https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/creating-hope/6344594  |