by Komoneed | Oct 5, 2024
Australia’s leading peak waste and recycling industry organisations have joined together to call for urgent action on the growing hazard posed by batteries and electronics in conventional waste and recycling streams.
Ten peak state, territory and national industry groups — comprising the Australian Council of Recycling, Australian Organics Recycling Association, National Waste and Recycling Industry Council, Victorian Waste Management Association, Waste and Recycling Industry Association (NT), Waste and Recycling Industry Association (Qld), Waste and Recycling Industry Association (SA), Waste and Recycling Industry Association (WA), Waste Contractors & Recyclers Association (NSW) and Waste Recycling and Processing Industry Association (Vic) — are demanding immediate measures to confront this escalating crisis.
With around 30 battery-related fires occurring daily across the country — amounting to over 10,000 fires a year — there is an ongoing risk to the operational safety of waste and recycling infrastructure, as well as the wellbeing of workers and the health of the environment.
Batteries are ubiquitous in consumer electronics, particularly in lithium-based chemistries. When improperly disposed of in conventional waste or recycling streams, they pose a significant fire hazard. The growing use of products like e-scooters and devices with integrated batteries further exacerbates the risk of fires and the release of toxic gases.
To combat this urgent issue, the waste and recycling industries call on Australian, state and territory governments to implement the following measures:
Ban battery disposal: Prohibit the disposal of batteries in household and commercial waste, with penalties for non-compliance.
Safe disposal networks: Establish easily accessible collection points for safe disposal of loose and embedded batteries across Australia.
National education campaign: Launch a comprehensive awareness initiative to inform the public on proper disposal methods.
Industry support: Provide support and resources, including insurance backing, to manage and mitigate the risks posed by batteries.
Extended producer responsibility: Expedite national regulations, mandating producer responsibility to fund safe disposal and processing of all batteries and consumer electronics products.
Accountability targets: Set ambitious recovery targets for batteries and consumer electronics to ensure accountability across the market.
“The risks associated with improper disposal of batteries and consumer electronics are not just a concern for the waste and recycling industries; they affect every Australian,” said Suzanne Toumbourou, CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling. “We must act now to protect our people, our infrastructure and our environment.”
“Our industries are united in this critical call for action,” said Rick Ralph, CEO of the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council. “There must be immediate and coordinated action to tackle the battery disposal crisis.”
Image credit: iStock.com/Just_Super
by Grace Ebert | Oct 5, 2024
The study produces the most detailed map of an animal’s brain in existence.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Scientists Release an Astounding, Detailed Map of a Fly Brain in Groundbreaking Study appeared first on Colossal.
by Komoneed | Oct 4, 2024
California is tackling the problem of textile and fashion waste with the country’s first law that requires clothing companies to implement a recycling system for the garments they sell. Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act. The new law requires a clothing, apparel and textile extended producer responsibility (EPR) program, […]
The post California Passes First U.S. Clothing Recycling Law appeared first on EcoWatch.
by Komoneed | Oct 4, 2024
Resilience at Scale: A New Paradigm for Infrastructure Investments
jschoshinski
Wed, 10/02/2024 – 18:59
Please join the CSIS Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative to examine the importance of U.S. government climate-resilient infrastructure investments in developing countries around the world, and best practices for applying a systems approach to infrastructure planning and design in the face of extreme weather. The event will also serve to launch “Resilience at Scale: A Systems Approach to Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Planning,” a report developed through an interagency process led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in support of the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience.
Infrastructure projects are often focused on specific roads, buildings, dams, ports, and other critical facilities, but such individual assets are each a part of broader networks that can face climate-change related disruptions and cascading failures. A hospital becomes inaccessible, regardless of whether it is designed to be resilient, if the access roads and bridges that lead to it are damaged by a storm. Even though U.S. agencies have been systematically screening their international development investments for climate risks in accordance with an executive order since 2014, government investments and partnerships in climate-vulnerable countries need to go further by transitioning to a systems approach to climate resilience planning.
This event is an opportunity to better understand some of the institutional, technical, and financial barriers to such a systems approach, and how U.S. government agencies, working to implement PREPARE, aim to overcome them. It will also serve as another window into the latest thinking about the emerging resilience economy around the world and how it relates to U.S. security and economic interests.
A light networking reception will immediately follow the event.
Event Date
Thursday, October 10, 2024, 10:00
– 11:30 am EDT
(2:00 – 3:30 pm UTC)
Advanced registration required
Off
External Link
Register Here
Event Format
Virtual
In-Person
Event Type
Webinar/Presentation
Topic
Adaptation
Infrastructure
Resilience
Strategic Objective
Adaptation
Sectors
Adaptation
Infrastructure
Region
Global
Add to calendar
Add to Calendar
2024-10-10 14:00:00
2024-10-10 15:30:00
Resilience at Scale: A New Paradigm for Infrastructure Investments
Please join the CSIS Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative to examine the importance of U.S. government climate-resilient infrastructure investments in developing countries around the world, and best practices for applying a systems approach to infrastructure planning and design in the face of extreme weather. The event will also serve to launch “Resilience at Scale: A Systems Approach to Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Planning,” a report developed through an interagency process led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in support of the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience.
Infrastructure projects are often focused on specific roads, buildings, dams, ports, and other critical facilities, but such individual assets are each a part of broader networks that can face climate-change related disruptions and cascading failures. A hospital becomes inaccessible, regardless of whether it is designed to be resilient, if the access roads and bridges that lead to it are damaged by a storm. Even though U.S. agencies have been systematically screening their international development investments for climate risks in accordance with an executive order since 2014, government investments and partnerships in climate-vulnerable countries need to go further by transitioning to a systems approach to climate resilience planning.
This event is an opportunity to better understand some of the institutional, technical, and financial barriers to such a systems approach, and how U.S. government agencies, working to implement PREPARE, aim to overcome them. It will also serve as another window into the latest thinking about the emerging resilience economy around the world and how it relates to U.S. security and economic interests.
A light networking reception will immediately follow the event.
Global Climate Change
team@climatelinks.org
UTC
public
by Komoneed | Oct 4, 2024
This post was originally published on The Art NewspaperA Federal Emergency Management Agency programme is using art to raise awareness of flood risks and build resilience in...
