Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says City of Darwin is the first council in the country to be able to destroy PFAS, which is being done at the rubbish tip

Transcript

Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says City of Darwin is the first council in the country to be able to destroy PFAS, which is being done at the rubbish tip · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Waning me live in the studio right now is the
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  Speaker 1: Lord Mayor of Darwin conbat scarlets, Good morning.
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  Speaker 2: Corn, good morning. I think is going to rain, which.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: High light time. So con plenty happening around the place.
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  Speaker 1: But certainly the city of Darwin has been getting all
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  Speaker 1: organized for cyclone season and we.
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  Speaker 2: Did really well, kate it.
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  Speaker 3: We actually collected one two hundred and thirty eight truck
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  Speaker 3: loads of wastew I was in your backyards, in our
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  Speaker 3: backyards couldn't have flown around in a cyclone.
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  Speaker 2: That is a lot a lot wait, one hundred.
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  Speaker 3: And forty three tons of scrub metal, eighty four tons
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  Speaker 3: of white goods and ten tons of electronic waste for
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  Speaker 3: else yeap. That means that we had all these things
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  Speaker 3: in our backyards waiting to fly away. But thank God
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  Speaker 3: for it, we actually picked it up. Thank you very
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  Speaker 3: much for people doing that one participating. But also we
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  Speaker 3: have to say that we did not pick up six
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  Speaker 3: hundred and twenty seven hazards items They were not selected
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  Speaker 3: like paint, solvents, petrol, tires, chemicals or things that were
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  Speaker 3: actually more than two cubic meters.
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  Speaker 1: And so then a most have people sort of left
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  Speaker 1: though where I've had to take them and up.
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  Speaker 3: We didn't pick it up, so it's their responsibility to
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  Speaker 3: take them to the tip and disport them off.
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  Speaker 1: Responsibility fair enough, corn, How does all that wise compared
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  Speaker 1: to previous years? Is it around the sime as what
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  Speaker 1: you usually pick up?
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  Speaker 3: Usually every year we get more because new people coming in.
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  Speaker 3: New people actually have stuff when they move in more
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  Speaker 3: or less the same. However, last year we had a
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  Speaker 3: twenty percent increase on the volume we picked up. So
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  Speaker 3: we'll do the calculation at the end to find out
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  Speaker 3: where it is, and I will let.
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  Speaker 1: You know much good stuff they can then be solved
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  Speaker 1: in the tapecure of.
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  Speaker 2: Them actually going to HPA.
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  Speaker 3: A lot of it it's actually just junk lying around,
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  Speaker 3: but when we see something really good, it goes straight
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  Speaker 3: to HPA.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, good stuff. Oh well, hopefully and hopefully able to
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  Speaker 1: raise a bit of money for them if there's some
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  Speaker 1: good stuff there.
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  Speaker 3: But the good thing is they are not going to
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  Speaker 3: fly around. If we're going to hear a cyclone because
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  Speaker 3: the bomb we want to change its name now, but
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  Speaker 3: I will still call it bomb. Tell us it's going
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  Speaker 3: to be they're going to be more cyclic.
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  Speaker 1: What do you think about them wanting to change their
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  Speaker 1: name and trying to sort of do that right in
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  Speaker 1: the middle of a flood disaster.
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  Speaker 3: I think the person who gaming with the ideas to
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  Speaker 3: start writing your CV, he probably will be looking for
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  Speaker 3: a new job because everybody knows us Bomb. Why you
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  Speaker 3: want to change the name when there's no wrong? Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: there's what's coming and said we're going to change our
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  Speaker 3: name from quantus something else. Why everybody knows your quantas
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  Speaker 3: or Toyota or me's so busy.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, Bomb. Everybody knows it's BOMB.
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  Speaker 3: When I look at my phone, the bloody applications doesn't
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  Speaker 3: say bureau.
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  Speaker 1: That's right. Con Let me stay on council issues and
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  Speaker 1: Rapid Creek. I know that the Rapid Creek bridge there
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  Speaker 1: has that work now actually gotten under.
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  Speaker 3: Why Monday started under seventeenth. First of all, he has
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  Speaker 3: to remove some of the old damaged structural members and
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  Speaker 3: then we replay replace them with temporary ones so the
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  Speaker 3: bridge can open. And please do not get upset and angry,
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  Speaker 3: and do not attack your elected members because the reason
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  Speaker 3: the bridge is closed it's for your personal protection and safety,
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  Speaker 3: because if you cross that bridge the way it was
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  Speaker 3: and something happened to you. I'm pretty sure you'll be
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  Speaker 3: suing the council for damages because the council dim closed
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  Speaker 3: the bridge, and so.
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  Speaker 1: Is there another way that you can get it? Look,
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  Speaker 1: what's the situation now? Is it going to be something temporary?
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  Speaker 3: Open the bridge temporary and this construction of the new
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  Speaker 3: one will start to relocate somewhere else. But it's not
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  Speaker 3: only councils that have a say on that one. There's
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  Speaker 3: a very censive sensitive ecological area. We have to work
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  Speaker 3: with EPA, we have to work with the water resources
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  Speaker 3: with common authority. So it's not just councel slapping a
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  Speaker 3: new bridge there and anything goes.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, fair enough, So quite a bit of work to
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  Speaker 1: get onto. Why how long do you reckon it's going
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  Speaker 1: to take, Well, this one's not going to.
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  Speaker 2: Take long to open it temporarily.
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  Speaker 3: The other one will take some time because we have
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  Speaker 3: to design it, we have to construct it, and we
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  Speaker 3: have to get all the permissions in place to locate
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  Speaker 3: it in the Europe.
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  Speaker 1: And then it's the difficulty is then with the water
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  Speaker 1: levels and things like that.
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  Speaker 3: Changing Blood Bridge goes always underwater if we've got a
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  Speaker 3: big wet and that's what we've got. The problem we've got,
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  Speaker 3: it's a salty environment. Things are eaten by salt. If
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  Speaker 3: you have a house near the beach, you know very well.
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  Speaker 3: Only have you have to have a look at your
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  Speaker 3: fence outside. Fancy how quickly they rushed even the ones
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  Speaker 3: that's supposed to be stanless.
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  Speaker 2: Still Yeah, because you've got a salty environment. It's really
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  Speaker 2: really bad.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, right Corn. Now with the Casuarina Pool, that's obviously
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  Speaker 1: another big development that's about to get under Why has
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  Speaker 1: that work started yet? Well, where is it at right now?
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  Speaker 3: Design is underwhere it has been underway for a while.
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  Speaker 3: We know what we're going to do with the fifty
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  Speaker 3: and twenty five meters it's already designed and already been
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  Speaker 3: told why it's going to be constructed. Now they finalized
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  Speaker 3: the design of the resort style pool. We actually finalize
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  Speaker 3: the design of the covers because we find out that having.
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  Speaker 2: Said cloth, it does work very well.
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  Speaker 3: As a cyclone has to be removed, has to be reinstated,
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  Speaker 3: and sometimes we get set them storms and they can
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  Speaker 3: be ripped apart. So the DCA application went in demolition
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  Speaker 3: he has already started, so it's work in.
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  Speaker 1: Progression and So what's the shade structure going to be.
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  Speaker 1: Is it not going to be shad going.
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  Speaker 2: To be shaved, but it's going to be permanent shade
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  Speaker 2: structure made of.
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  Speaker 1: Metal over the whole pool or just half some of it.
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  Speaker 3: Because if we do over the whole pool, the pool
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  Speaker 3: gets too cold and people complain. So we actually said
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  Speaker 3: in part of the pool, so the sun will hit
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  Speaker 3: the water part of it and the temples will be
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  Speaker 3: maintained at.
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  Speaker 1: A reserable People really complain about that.
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  Speaker 3: Oh yes, that wild people do not like water. That's
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  Speaker 3: actually be low twenty three twenty.
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  Speaker 1: Four becaus I suppose then I guess from another perspective
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  Speaker 1: on there for like kids some in carnivals where you know,
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  Speaker 1: for half the day obviously there's shade, but then for
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  Speaker 1: the other half it's not shady at all. So it's
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  Speaker 1: hard to please everybody but you.
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  Speaker 3: But I said you, we try our best. Now I
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  Speaker 3: have to say I've been down for nearly thirty years.
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  Speaker 3: When I get to the pool in the dry fee
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  Speaker 3: a bit cold. Well, if I was down south, I
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  Speaker 3: got to the pool during their winter where they said temporary,
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  Speaker 3: Oh my god, thank god, it's holt.
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  Speaker 1: Well, yeah, it is definitely very different. And I guess
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  Speaker 1: it all comes down to the funding as well, because.
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  Speaker 3: You know the funding is are a twenty five million dollars.
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  Speaker 3: We all look at the money, we said, this is
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  Speaker 3: our budget, this is what we're going to spend, and
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  Speaker 3: twenty five million dollars would deliver us.
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  Speaker 2: A really good project.
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  Speaker 1: Now, con one of the other things that is obviously
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  Speaker 1: happening at the moment is the nominations for the Lord
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  Speaker 1: Baryl Awards have now opened, haven't they.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, Please if you know any individual or a disability
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  Speaker 3: who has made an outstanding contribution to our community, please
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  Speaker 3: just get a form nominate them. These people have to
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  Speaker 3: be recognized because it's not only their own disability, but
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  Speaker 3: despite their disability, they do things for other people. And
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  Speaker 3: we had some really signing examples in the past that
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  Speaker 3: people were disabled were looking after other disabled people or
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  Speaker 3: even members of their families. That can be a really
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  Speaker 3: hard job to be a disabled person. You can imagine
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  Speaker 3: how hard they we have to look after another but
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  Speaker 3: they do it because they want to do it, because
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  Speaker 3: they've got a big heart. And let recognize that big heart.
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  Speaker 3: Nominate them and let's put them up there as a
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  Speaker 3: sunning examples for others.
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  Speaker 1: Con where can people get a bit more information about that?
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  Speaker 3: If they are website you can find out if you
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  Speaker 3: look at the Facebook, I presume everybody's good Facebook. If
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  Speaker 3: you see the Lord Mayor's Award, just click in informations
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  Speaker 3: there it will bring you to the right place to
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  Speaker 3: actually download the nomination form and the selection criteria.
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  Speaker 2: Well.
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  Speaker 1: Conbat Scarless, the Lord Mayor of Down and it's always
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  Speaker 1: good to catch up with you. Thank you very much.
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  Speaker 2: Take true pleased to be here and talk to you
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  Speaker 2: and to people.
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  Speaker 3: And the other thing I would tell you, which I'm
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  Speaker 3: very proud of, is the where the first council in
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  Speaker 3: Australia now to be able to destroy p fuss in
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  Speaker 3: our Rubbisti and with the propriety intellectual property developed by
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  Speaker 3: US and water Carbon Limited with a company from Queensland
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  Speaker 3: which using natural resources destroy p fass and also to
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  Speaker 3: destroy our lich. That's the black water that comes out
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  Speaker 3: of the tip because of the decomposition of the rabbish.
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  Speaker 1: And so where is that that facility is now.
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  Speaker 2: Outside the Rabbish tip.
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  Speaker 3: We actually received that black water, we put it through
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  Speaker 3: our system and on the the hand we get clean
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  Speaker 3: water we used to water the grass we put on
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  Speaker 3: top of the cup of the completed cells so there's
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  Speaker 3: no any problem, no erosion and hold the range again.
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  Speaker 1: So con could something like that be utilized in other
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  Speaker 1: parts of Australia where obviously the.
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  Speaker 3: Electro property and we're looking forward to other councils coming
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  Speaker 3: to us. The company that developed that project now they're
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  Speaker 3: preparing one that goes in a container so it can
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  Speaker 3: be transported anywhere to small areas to process the liquid
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  Speaker 3: waste and.
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  Speaker 1: Be Fast and so that is operational at the tip.
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  Speaker 2: Sp it operates and treat our wiste and that waste.
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  Speaker 3: Now they don't find a way into the underground water
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  Speaker 3: table because our tip, unfortunately, it's in an area where
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  Speaker 3: it's time and we've got a lot of water movement
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  Speaker 3: above ground.
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  Speaker 1: And belowg so we have a lot of payfasts that
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  Speaker 1: needs to be traded out there.
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  Speaker 3: Oh yes, because first of all, a lot of soil
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  Speaker 3: was done there that came from the different basis around
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  Speaker 3: the territory, which at the time we did know about
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  Speaker 3: be Fast.
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  Speaker 2: Now we know, we check for it, we find out.
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  Speaker 3: The good thing is if we had to destroy be Fast,
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  Speaker 3: the normal way we had to find way to send
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  Speaker 3: thousands of litters of contaminated water down south. Now we
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: only have to send a few barrels of contaminate water
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  Speaker 3: because concentrate, and then we take it to a larcense
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  Speaker 3: facility that destroyed by incineration.
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  Speaker 1: And so what prompted you know what prompted the council
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  Speaker 1: we come up with this idea and to make this change.
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  Speaker 3: Well, we couldn't continue do things the way we're doing it.
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  Speaker 3: First of all, we have an obligation to protect the environment.
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  Speaker 3: Second is weally I spent so much money to transport
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  Speaker 3: thousands leaders of contaminated liquid down south.
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  Speaker 2: I invested the money in this process.
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  Speaker 3: This process it paid dividends and now I own something
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  Speaker 3: with a company that benefits the community. The environment, benefits
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  Speaker 3: are community by reducing costs. And also we can make
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  Speaker 3: money if other councilors are renders to utilize well.
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  Speaker 1: Convat Scarlets, the Lord Mayor of Darwin, good to speak
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  Speaker 1: with you this morning. Thanks for your.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: Time, have a great time and have a great week.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Thank you.