Council spends $150K collecting nangs, votes in favour of crackdown

The City of Melbourne has acknowledged it lacks a proper management plan for dumped nitrous oxide cannisters or “nangs” and has voted to support a crackdown on the misuse of the gas and seek the development of a multi-agency response to the problem.

Following an early July announcement by the NSW government that it will tighten laws around supply of nitrous oxide, Lord Mayor Nick Reece moved a motion at a Future Melbourne Committee meeting noting the “growing public health, public amenity and waste impacts associated with nitrous oxide misuse and the dumping of nitrous oxide canisters in the municipality”.

As North West City News has reported, the gas, which is being used recreationally by young people in many countries around the world, is listed as a Schedule 6 poison under Australia’s Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act – meaning it is considered to have moderate potential to cause harm, which can be reduced through strong warnings and safety directions on packaging.

Its sale or supply for inhalation outside of medical settings is prohibited in Victoria but it is readily available in Melbourne, including via 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week home delivery by companies professing to sell it for culinary purposes.

When inhaled, it is “rapidly absorbed by the body and produces a rush of euphoria, heightened consciousness and disassociation that includes both anaesthetic and sedative components,” according to a recent report by the Victorian Coroner’s Court.

“Two years ago, I had never heard of nangs,” the Lord Mayor told councillors at the July 7 Future Melbourne Committee meeting. “Now they’re an absolute scourge on our city.”

Large silver or brightly coloured gas canisters were appearing daily on footpaths, in laneways or piled up next to rubbish bins, he said, signalling a growing public health concern as well as a waste problem.

“Victorian hospitals are seeing increasing numbers of patients with serious health problems including nerve damage, paralysis, mental health complications, brain rot and death," Cr Reece said.

“There were indeed four deaths last year here in Melbourne because of nangs,” he said, acknowledging also the legitimate uses of the gas.

His motion noted that the collection and disposal of the containers was “a difficult and costly business”, with more than 6600 illegally dumped canisters costing ratepayers $146,000 over the past 12 months.

Furthermore, there had been incidents of them exploding inside waste trucks and bins.

“We need to get a proper policy and strategy in place for how we collect and dispose of these nangs,” he said.

“Practical steps” the council endorsed included “writing to ministers and appropriate department heads calling for intervention” and facilitating a roundtable to develop a coordinated plan.

It also asks council officers “to investigate practical and logical measures including faster removal of dumped canisters, better reporting systems, collection programs and also looking to learn from other cities who are considerably more advanced than Melbourne is in dealing with this issue.”

The motion calls also for a ban on flavoured nitrous oxide, and as a result of amendments introduced by Cr Dr Olivia Ball, a ban on “nozzle silencers”, which make the gas more amenable to consume, as well as the introduction of plain packaging with mandatory health warnings.

The Lord Mayor thanked “the many active citizens and residents” who had brought the issue to the attention of the council, particularly Matthew Harris from the owners’ corporation at the Aurora building on Latrobe St.

The council voted unanimously in support of the approach, which will see council staff report back on the issue in three months. •