Waste

Analysis and Comment (21)

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From the plate to the power station. Flickr/tomylees

It stinks, but food waste is feeding our hunger for energy

By Jude Onwudili, University of Leeds

The amount of scrap food thrown away worldwide is staggering. WRAP, a government-funded non-profit set up to encourage recycling and clamp down on waste, reports that in the UK we discard more than 7.2m…
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An estimated 30-50% of food produced worldwide is wasted, and ends up only fit for the birds. Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Food waste: beyond fridge guilt to a sustainable system

By Adrian Morley, Cardiff University

The food system is perhaps the most vital component of our modern industrialised world. Without food in shops, it’s fair to say society would unravel in a matter of days. The food industry is in many…
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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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Recycling is all very well, but how do we stop producing waste in the first place? Yoav Lerman

For a truly sustainable world, we need zero waste cities

By Steffen Lehmann, University of South Australia

The current state of worldwide urban development is depressing. We are not moving towards environmentally sustainable design and reduced consumption quickly enough. There have been dire warnings about…
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Is our distaste for toilet talk halting sanitation improvements in the developing world? Alan Porritt/AAP

Loosen up, it’s time to talk about toilets

By Robin Canniford, University of Melbourne

Bodily waste can be an embarrassing subject, but one that most of us can avoid thanks to efficient toilets and sewers. Nevertheless, this embarrassment may be holding back improvements in sanitation where…
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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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Anything tastes good when it’s cooked in a pie. Even kidneys. Jo Carter

Have some guts and help the environment

By Stephanie Pradier, La Trobe University

I invited some friends to dinner recently for a little heart to heart. Little did they know, that I was being literal. For my guests that night, I served lamb heart stew. Offal. The word is enough to…
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Take the offer: sharing cuts waste and builds communities but we have our reasons for not always being comfortable with it. Flickr/Zervas

Sharing: if it’s so good, why don’t we do more of it?

By Millie Rooney, University of Tasmania

Sharing is a good thing right? We are told it is good for the environment by cutting waste and needless consumption; we encourage it in our children for their moral growth; we see it used in advertising…
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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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Consumers need more useful information about assessing the freshness and safety of food products.

Has the use-by date gone past its prime?

By Penny Wilson and Will J Grant

Picture this: you arrive home from work feeling a bit peckish. Sliced mango and a dollop of yoghurt should ease the cravings until dinner, you think. You open the fridge door and, horror, no yoghurt. Not…
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Exporting uranium carries a risk not just in Australia, but all over the world. Mad House Photography

Expanding Olympic Dam: with great power comes great responsibility

By Gavin Mudd, Monash University

The South Australian and Federal governments have approved another expansion at Olympic Dam. This expansion raises some very important questions about Australia’s role in the future of global energy and…
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Sure, they’re ugly; but plastic bags might not be so bad. Robin Tennant-Wood

Banning plastic bags: real change, or a cosmetic solution?

By Robin Tennant-Wood, University of Canberra

From today, plastic bags are banned in the NT. The ACT will follow suit in November: in 2009 the ACT abandoned its 14-year old “No Waste by 2010” strategy and replaced it with a ban on plastic shopping…
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If businesses develop the skills to assess energy efficiency, they could be on a winner. Passivehaus via Wikimedia Commons

Businesses could benefit from efficiency under carbon tax

By Suzanne Benn, University of Technology, Sydney and Paul Brown, University of Technology, Sydney

Being energy efficient has always made financial sense for industry. The introduction of the Clean Energy Future package and a price on carbon makes it even more sensible. But many businesses will struggle…
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Every trip has positive and negative effects. Ben Beiske/Flickr

Can tourism really have conservation benefits?

By Guy Castley, Griffith University

Many of us eagerly await those few weeks when we can escape the daily grind and break away to some breathtaking holiday destination. But with increasing concern over climate change and the emissions generated…
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Australia struggles to keep up in the efficiency race. Flickr/adambowie

Australia ignores energy efficiency, burns money

By Alan Pears AM, RMIT University

Energy efficiency is globally seen as the biggest and best option for cheaply reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dealing with rising power bills. But in Australia it still struggles for recognition…
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Turning off the taps means we spend less, but is that bad? Flickr/siette

Economists want water conservation to dry up

By Philip Wallis, Monash University

The Productivity Commission’s recent report on Australia’s urban water sector sets out the economic case for reform. One reform they suggest: remove water conservation measures. In Melbourne, most people…
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Reusing construction waste can save companies a lot of money. Flickr/Peter Van den Bossche

Cleaning up the construction industry

By Keri Chiveralls, University of South Australia; George Zillante, University of South Australia; Jasmine Palmer, University of South Australia; Jian Zuo, University of South Australia; Lou Wilson, University of South Australia, and Stephen Pullen, University of South Australia

Australia is one of the ten worst offenders in the OECD when it comes to generating solid waste. The construction industry is a leading contributor, throwing out a third of our gross national pile of…

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