- Sally MacPhail & Ian Crawford, EPA Victoria
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The objective of this presentation is to increase awareness and understanding of the outcomes gained from a successful partnership with an industry sector. This voluntary collaboration between government and industry has achieved wins for the environment and the dental profession, while reducing the need for red tape. The outcome of the presentation will be an insight into an innovative voluntary partnership demonstrating leadership through collaboration.
Mercury is discharged to the Melbourne sewerage system from industrial, commercial and domestic premises and is concentrated in the sewerage sludges by treatment processes. It is a significant issue for Victoria’s water industry as it influences the ability to manage, treat, reuse or dispose of effluent and biosolids.
A widely recognised source of mercury to sewer is the dental industry. This primarily results from the placement and removal of amalgam, or “silver fillings”, which traditionally contains 45-50% mercury. In response to this issue, over $1,000,000 has been committed to a rebate scheme with funding from South East Water, City West Water, EPA Victoria and the Victorian Water Industry Association to assist the Australian Dental Association Victoria Branch (ADAVB) to develop and implement the ‘Dentists for Cleaner Water’ program.
The Dentists for Cleaner Water program supports the installation of amalgam separators in private dental surgeries throughout Victoria. Amalgam separators are capable of removing at least 95% of amalgam waste before it reaches sewerage systems. The filtered amalgam can then be safely recycled. Through the rebate scheme, the program encourages the dental profession to responsibly manage the waste from silver fillings (e.g. mercury) without regulation, reducing the financial burden for industry and creating reputational benefits.
The Dentists for Cleaner Water program is an excellent example of partnership, collaboration and voluntary participation providing significant environmental outcomes without red tape. The presentation will discuss the history of the program, the current status of the program and how it is tracking for the future. Learnings from this voluntary collaboration approach between government and industry will also be presented.
BIOS:
Sally MacPhail has been with EPA since 2000. She has worked in many varied areas of the organisation including, as reference librarian, policy officer, ballast water officer and most recently as a Trade Waste project manager within the Sustainable Solutions unit.
She joined EPA after three years with BHP Petroleum. She has a background in the Arts, most recently completing a Graduate Diploma in Environmental Studies at Melbourne University.
The Sustainable Solutions Unit focuses on EPA’s industry partnership programs and the ‘beyond compliance’ work with Business and Industry. This area has specific priorities around improving resource efficiency and reducing the generation and disposal of Trade Waste and Prescribed Industrial Waste. These objectives are closely linked to EPA’s objectives of ‘benefit the economy’, ‘increase resource efficiency’, ‘enhance our reputation’, ‘tackle climate change’ and ‘reduce emission impacts’.
Ian Crawford was appointed Project Manager - “Dentists for Cleaner Water” in January 2008. His background is in Dental Materials having worked in the Dental Industry for nearly 40 years.
The positions occupied during that period of time have been from National Sales Manager onto National Marketing Manager through to State Manager and also General Manager for his respective Companies.
Ian has visited many International Dental Plants viewing materials and their usage and attended globally a variety of Dental Conferences and Exhibitions.
The Australian Dental Industry Association awarded Ian a ‘Life Member’ for his honorary service given over many years to that body and the Australian Dental Association presented Ian with a “Distinguished Service” order for his contribution to that group.
Finally Ian’s work with “Dentists for Cleaner Water” sees him involved with the Dental Profession, Dental Industry organisations and the Service Installers which together make up the active day to day participants in this important subject.