Polystyrene pollutes Aussie neighbourhood following devastating storms
The white blocks strewn everywhere across the streets come from a nearby construction site.
As storms have raged across some parts of the country, locals in one area went outside to find their streets covered in mounds of white stuff— only it was not snow or hail.
Victoria was smashed with devastating storms on Tuesday causing power outages, and damage to property and infrastructure. Residents in Keysborough, in Melbourne's south were shocked to find that instead of fallen trees, there were giant bits of polystyrene strewn across the whole street and surrounding areas following the wild weather.
"[It's] from a construction site close by," Mira shared alongside a video of the foam debris which had landed in almost every front yard and had filled up the local park nearby.
The Greater Dandenong Council received "over 400 reports and requests for assistance" since the storm came on Tuesday, though most reports had to do with trees.
It told Yahoo News Australia that one of the reports sent through was regarding the debris from the video. "Council was made aware of the debris on the afternoon of Tuesday 13 February," it said.
After seeing the carnage online, hundreds could not believe it. "Jesus! It's like something out of a movie," one person said. "Someone buy a new TV?" another joked.
What is the white debris?
These large white bocks appear to be what are known as "waffle pods", which are polystyrene blocks used in construction and are held under steel reinforcements before concrete is poured over them.
According to Bunnings online, where you can purchase these pods, this type of flooring provides additional strength and insulation to a concrete slab.
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Who cleans up a mess like this?
Many who saw the video questioned who was going to be responsible for the clean-up — the council or the construction site. On this occasion, construction workers dealt with the problem swiftly before council workers arrived. "[We] attended the site the following morning and found the construction workers already cleaning up and tying loose items down with netting," the council said.
The Greater Dandenong Council follows the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines when it comes to dealing with construction site waste, which includes the legal requirement for sites to "ensure all substances are handled, stored, used and/or transported in a way that minimises risks."
Despite this, it shared they would not be issuing any fines this time. "Council has not received any previous complaints about this particular site, so coupled with the unforeseen circumstances and quick response to the issue we will not take any action against the company."
Polystyrene 'horrendous stuff' according to experts
Dr Michelle Blewitt from the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP) is one of the country’s leading authorities on the damaging impact plastics like polystyrene have on our environment.
Blewitt has long advocated for a more widespread ban on polystyrene, which she describes as “horrendous stuff”.
“It’s extremely damaging to the environment because you can’t recycle it and it has a high hazard rating as well," she previously told Yahoo
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