103. PFAS - what you need to know about forever chemicals
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What is the main focus of the episode and why are forever chemicals in the news?
Hello, welcome to Talkin' Rubbish, a weekly podcast delving deep into the world of recycling and discussing the truth behind snappy headlines and one-sided stories. In this episode we will finally be discussing PFAS. Are Ziploc bags rubbish or not? I have a question about whether PPWR will stifle innovation and how will baked beans be packaged in our dream shop. I'm James Piper and I'm joined by Rober Stanforth, my far from rubbish friend. Good morning Robbie. Hey James. How are you today? Very good, thank you. Very good. Very big week for bins.
Yes, I know what you're talking about.
Count bin face. I know. He's absolutely everywhere at the moment. He's fighting his enemy, Nigel Farage. And that has led to many interviews with bin puns, which has just been great. Because often I'm thinking, have we covered all the bin puns? So it is absolutely brilliant to see the memes that are coming out. I saw one yesterday that was, you know, that meme of Martin Scorsese and the cinnamon. He's going absolutely. Absolute cinema. It was Campbin Face but with absolute binama. So good. Like Thanos.
Yeah, the one you sent me was the Thanos one. I am Benevitable. It was so funny. So good. And he's representing the party recyclons. Oh. So it really does feel like he's kind of stepping on our terrain here a little bit with the influencers.
I had a WhatsApp from someone today saying could we interview Count Binface and maybe and I'm just gonna be a little bit careful 'cause I'm not a hundred percent on the political leanings of our audience, decide whether Nigel Farage is rubbish or not. Oh shame. You prepared to make that decision? Anyway, very cool and I like that bins are getting so much attention.
Yeah, maybe there's gonna be a halo effect and lots of people are gonna be talking about recycling as a consequence. Hopefully so.
Or politics and how rubbish it is. And as we said, well, as we've said since episode a hundred, we're now on video.
Yes.
And so if you're on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, you can watch us as well as listen to us.
What are PFAS and why are they called “forever chemicals”?
And I'm pleased and amazed that fifteen percent of our audience are doing that. Which I actually think is quite high after a couple of weeks.
Yeah, so people do actually flick it across to video. That's how it works on YouTube, you just sort of span it across, you can switch between audio and video continuously.
Yeah, you do the same with Apple. So yeah, fifteen percent of our audience watching us, which I just think is great. So hello if you're watching us out there, just do our weekly wave.
Trash talk. So our PPWR discussion, uh, which was a couple of weeks ago, where we talked about PFAS levels and the EU putting restrictions on PFAS levels, made me think, gosh, we haven't actually done an episode on PFAS. We've spent a long time talking about them, but we've never actually done a deep dive into it.
Yeah, it's one of those things where you hear it all the time now. It seems to be everywhere talking about PFAS and certainly in a negative context. So finding out what it's all about is seemingly pretty important. And I must confess, this is gonna be another one of those trash talks where I just listen with intent because I don't even know what the acronym is.
Oh really? Oh well I'm sure you've got things to say. But this isn't just about educating you, Robbie. It's also because there was a study done by the University of Birmingham into Tesco and they took thirty products, meat and dairy And fish and those kind of products. Okay. Tested them for PFAS and found PFAS in every single sample they tested. Really? Yes. And so that made me think we need to look into whether that's bad or not and what's going on. And so we'll come on to the test case study. But yeah, let's first talk about why PFAS has suddenly hit the mainstream. And I actually found a Guardian article that made me laugh that was the um comment that someone had made was P FAS is in the dust. Yeah. And then Pass is in the thing I use to clean the dust.
It just made me think of like that Monica from Friends scene where she's got the vacuum and then the small vacuum for the vacuum.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main focus of the episode and why are forever chemicals in the news?
0:00–2:08
2
What are PFAS and why are they called “forever chemicals”?
2:08–28:08
3
How do the recent Tesco study results change our view of PFAS exposure?
28:08–40:37
4
Are Ziploc bags considered recyclable or rubbish?
40:37–43:23
5
What are the latest recycling‑related headlines in the “Rubbish News” segment?
43:23–49:20
6
Will the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) limit innovation for startups?
49:20–53:03
7
Which baked‑bean packaging is the most sustainable for a typical household?
53:03–54:53
8
What are the key take‑aways from the “Residual Rubbish” wrap‑up?
54:53–59:31
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Talking Rubbish - The Recycling Podcast
107. Why our bins keep catching fire
106. Why your fridge is making you waste food
105. The free food app rescuing millions of meals, with Tessa Clarke from Olio
104. Why flexible plastic might never be recycled
102. Greenwashing exposed - what Adidas, Uniqlo and Calvin Klein got wrong
101. PPWR - why packaging will never be the same