Recycling

Analysis and Comment (10)

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Is Coca-Cola Amatil’s opposition to the Northern Territory’s container deposit scheme out of concern for household budgets or simply decreased profit margins? Flickr/Julian Stallabrass

Coke chokes the NT container deposit scheme

By Robin Tennant-Wood, University of Canberra

A reported 10 billion drink containers are thrown away in Australia every year. Many of these are recycled, but many end up in landfill, on roadsides and in waterways. The danger posed to wildlife by…
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Plastic is a major threat to our seabirds and marine life – this bird has filled its stomach with plastic during the 80-90 days it lived. Ian Hutton

Plastic and politics: how bureaucracy is failing our forgotten wildlife

By Jennifer Lavers, Monash University

Seabirds: the poster children for ocean health. Fishers use them to identify fishing hot spots. Environmental and marine scientists use them as indicators of the condition of the ocean environment due…
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Plastic bottles often end up on the beach where the plastic can remain for decades, harming sea life and the fish we eat. senderweb/Flickr

National container deposit scheme crushed by Australian Senate

By Damien Giurco, University of Technology, Sydney and Stuart White, University of Technology, Sydney

For the past 30 years, South Australians have lived in a state with a “container deposit scheme”. This means on small bottles or cans of water, soft drink, juice or alcohol, consumers pay a 10c deposit…
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We need a more intelligent discussion about how to use our finite carbon, and it needs to be about metal. AAP

Treasure your metal: why we need to respect embedded energy

By Geoffrey Brooks, Swinburne University of Technology

The recent furore about the carbon tax in this country has not been a celebration of enlightened debate. I think much of the debate misses a vital aspect of carbon use, namely, that using carbon to make…
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Recycling seems like a bright idea, but is its shine coming off? Kilgub/Flickr

What a waste! Why reducing rubbish might not make sense

By Jeff Bennett

The initial impressions most people have of waste-reduction campaigns and calls for greater recycling are that they must be good. After all, most of us are taught from a very early age that waste is a…
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We have to rethink the way we construct buildings, to make them easier to reuse after demolition. sssteve.one/Flickr

Beyond recycling: making waste obsolete

By Steffen Lehmann, University of South Australia and Atiq Zaman, University of South Australia

Given our rapid depletion of resources, especially raw materials, and Australia’s ever-increasing waste creation, it’s time to ask: what are the best ways to encourage resource recovery and recycling to…
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Much of our e-waste – such as these computer parts – ends up in developing countries. Greenpeace India

E-waste: the high cost of high-tech

By Sunil Herat, Griffith University

E-waste from used electrical and electronic gadgets such as desktop computers, laptops and iPhones is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. Rapid uptake of information technology around…
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How can we dispose of 20 million tyres a year while minimising our environmental impact? ppip

Recycling helps tyred-out rubber hit the road again

By Qipeng Guo, Deakin University

Used tyres pose a major environmental risk around the world, with more than one billion tyres disposed of every year. Most of these tyres end up in landfill. Estimates suggest more than 20 million passenger…
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Buying this will make you feel good, but should it? turkeychik

Explainer: is recycled paper really better for the environment?

By Tom Rainey, Queensland University of Technology

For many years, individual consumers, industries and governments have all purchased printing and writing paper made with a high recycled-fibre content. Why? Because they believe it is the most responsible…

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