Environment - addressing multiple pollution crises

In 2025 the new council will need to review the Glen Eira Council Community Health and Wellbeing Plan. We need to address the current and emerging issues in our community. I will address health, environment and genuine sustainability through advocacy and decision-making on a number of areas of concern.

Our planet is facing multiple crises that need to be addressed by all levels of government including local government.  For safer, healthier and sustainable communities we need more comprehensive action on climate, green spaces and biodiversity, and pollution including that of air, chemical, plastic, waste - and light pollution – all of which are addressed insufficiently, or not at all, in the council plan.

Join me in this journey towards a healthier, more liveable community.

Chemical pollution is the greatest planetary threat to health

Chemical pollution is on the rise annually. PFAS, as one example, is now contaminating our entire ecosystem – it is in our soil, water, food chain and our bodies. Readily found in common every day items such:

• Cleaning products.

• Water-resistant fabrics, such as rain jackets, umbrellas and tents.

• Grease-resistant paper.

• Nonstick cookware.

• Personal care products, like shampoo, dental floss, nail polish, and eye makeup.

• Stain-resistant coatings used on carpets, upholstery, and other fabrics

  The harm already done by PFAS is irreversible – but we can work to minimise harm. For example, NSW EPA has for some time prohibited all paper products from being added to the FOGO green bins due to PFAS contamination. EPA Victoria is behind on informing Victorians of this source of harm. Council can be proactive by informing its residents and advocating to EPA Victoria to update its guidelines. We need to address local sources of chemical pollution, by both council and the community, with education a key initial action.

Plastic pollution – microplastics are everywhere, in everything

Plastic pollution is the other environmental crisis facing our community. The shedding of microplastics from the countless sources of plastic in our lives is now, like PFAS, contaminating our entire ecosystem. Microplastics are now present in everything: our homes, soil, water, air, food and our bodies. We need to urgently go beyond plastic recycling to plastic reduction. I would like to see council and community work together to address this threat to our health and environment.

Light pollution – brighter is not better or safer

Light pollution is one of the least acknowledged of all pollution. The rise of energy efficient LEDs is leading to a rapid increase in urban light pollution – and it is affecting human health as well as wildlife, insects and plant life.

The nature of LED light is also problematic, with it dominating in the blue light spectrum. The increased exposure to blue light is harmful to vision and eye health and impacts sleep. This is not just a problem with use of digital devices. The low cost of running LEDs is seeing an increase in lighting of private properties, gardens, trees, increased signage, brighter street lights, blinding car headlights etc. This has impacts both on safety and health. Brighter street and property lights actually create darker shadows and blind human vision, ironically creating a less safe local environment.

Let’s work together to address this growing environmental and health concern!

Sustainability

Genuine sustainability is a commitment to practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

It encompasses social, environmental, and economic aspects to create lasting benefits for all.

As an independent candidate for Glen Eira in Jasper Ward, I will avoid greenwashing by being transparent about my policies, actions, and decision-making processes.

I will consistently engage with experts, stakeholders, and community members to ensure that my sustainability initiatives are meaningful, measurable, and impactful.

By prioritising accountability and authenticity, I will demonstrate a genuine dedication to sustainability that goes beyond rhetoric.

A key area of concern is our waste services. My observation of our neighbourhoods week in week out on bin nights is that residents are not coping with waste volume and waste sorting. Overflowing bins are a source of local litter impacting our neighbourhood amenity, and harming our environment and waterways. Improper waste sorting means greater contamination of recyclable material which means more waste to landfill.

We need to urgently address waste volume as a society - Victoria’s landfill space is running out and as a result of local, state and federal inaction we are heading towards a nightmarish future where we will incinerate our waste - this is happening right now under the guise of ‘sustainable’ waste-to-energy proposals across Melbourne under the state government’s circular economy plan.

I’m looking forward to working with council and community to find a solution to waste through more focused reduction strategies.

6 out of 9 planetary boundaries are now exceeded

The planetary boundaries concept presents a set of 9 planetary boundaries within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come… to me this is the most critical snapshot of the global urgency we face on multiple levels, and I have referred to this concept in many of my environmental submissions at local, state and federal level consultations.

Here we can see clearly the multiple crises of chemical/plastic, biodiversity, and climate are already outside the limits of safety.

Let’s work together at a local level to make an impact for a healthy and liveable planet!