Capturing the true wealth of Australia’s waste
Landfills produce huge amounts of methane. Many of the bigger operators capture it to turn into energy, but they’re wasting about 80% of what’s available. It’s time Australia stepped up.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Waste
Displaying 1 - 20 of 83 articles
Having more, owning less: how to fight throwaway culture
Why keep buying and chucking when you can rent and return?
Australian recycling plants have no incentive to improve
The Victorian government is auditing every recycling facility in the state after a disastrous fire at Coolaroo. It raises a bigger issue: we don't know how many plants Australia has or where they are.
What ethical business can do to help make ecocities a reality
City dwellers are individually starting to do their bit to live sustainably. Now pioneering businesses are aiming to make ecological and social sustainability part of their bottom line.
Waste crime: the multi-million pound swindle
Waste crime has the potential for easy, high profits and as such is set to join ranks with drugs and human trafficking.
Total circulation: using legal resources to understand and control new flows
To better understand and bring under control the new planetary flows that humanity has unleashed, we need to mobilize all the legal resources at your disposal.
We can’t recycle our way to ‘zero waste’
In the rush to increase recycling, we should remember that reducing waste in the first place is a much a higher priority.
Explainer: how much landfill does Australia have?
Australia sends 20 million tonnes of garbage to landfill every year. With thousands of sites across the nation, it's hard to track exactly how many there are, where they are, and what's filling them.
Explainer: why we should be turning waste into fuel
A recycling company has received tens of millions from the federal government to develop solid waste fuel. This fuel reduces landfill, shrinks our carbon footprint and protects the environment.
This South Pacific island of rubbish shows why we need to quit our plastic habit
Plastics pose a major threat to seabirds and other animals, and most don't ever break down - they just break up. Every piece of petrochemical-derived plastic ever made still exists on the planet.
Community repair: a pop-up alternative to the throwaway society
Time for a little more make do and mend.
Five golden rules to help solve your recycling dilemmas
Australia's recycling rules can seem horrendously complicated. But there a few golden rules to follow.
Recycling can be confusing, but it’s getting simpler
More Australians are recycling than ever, but let's not forget that avoiding waste in the first place is the best option.
Anthill 11: waste not, want not
CC BY-ND38.5 MB (download)
This episode explores how one person's waste can be another's treasure. We talk to scientists trying to eke something useful out of big piles of rubbish and discuss making the economy more circular.
Your future food will be grown with waste water
Worldwide, farmers are already using untreated waste water to irrigate their crops. Here's how to mitigate the danger.
Why giving surplus food to charities is not a solution to food poverty
Recycling leftovers from supermarkets does not address the roots of food poverty and removes responsibility from the government.
Food security and why Christmas dinner is in peril
From turkeys to salmon and brussels sprouts, modern living is putting mounting pressure on the festive feast.
Our cities need to go on a resource diet
Our cities need to become much more efficient not just to conserve precious resources but to improve the economy, wellbeing and resilience to environmental change and disasters.
The key to future food supply is sitting on our cities’ doorsteps
Australia's city foodbowls are an important part of the nation's food supply, but they're under increasing pressure from growing populations.
The 5p carrier bag charge has paved the way for other waste reduction policies
The 5p plastic bag charge is making society more eco-friendly than ever before.
Top contributors
-
Associate Professor and Principal Scientist, University of Southern Queensland
-
Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
-
Research Fellow, Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University
-
Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO
-
Senior Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRO
-
-
Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
-
Professor of Sustainable Architecture, University of Portsmouth
-
Research Fellow, University of Leeds
-
Research Fellow, University of Melbourne
-
Researcher in sustainable food systems, University of Melbourne
-
Research Fellow in Sustainable Consumer Behaviour, Nottingham Trent University
-
Professor of waste management, The University of Queensland
-
Discipine Leader Permaculture Design and Sustainability, CQUniversity Australia
-
Senior Lecturer, University of South Australia
Most read on The Conversation
China’s ‘sponge cities’ aim to re-use 70% of rainwater – here’s how
As Rohingyas flee Myanmar, India needs to drop religious criteria in its refugee law
Why seismologists didn’t see Mexico’s deadly earthquake coming
Turkey, the Rohingya crisis and Erdoğan’s ambitions to be a global Muslim leader
This old Catholic ritual is giving Brazil’s economy a small boost, one Virgin Mary statuette at a time
Revealed: the ancient genetic link between chimpanzees and bonobos
Rohingya genocide: the world can’t help until Myanmar changes its ways
Commuting by subway? What you need to know about air quality
Does being religious or spiritual make you more ethical at work?
