Understanding the success of the ABC’s War on Waste is a lesson in behavioural psychology. Research reveals five ways to guide other entertainment-education interventions to similar success.
Some plastic sent overseas for recycling ends up as pollution, or goes up in toxic smoke. But there are steps we can take to ensure our waste is processed as intended.
The federal government today announced $1 billion plan to divert more than ten million tonnes of waste from landfill. But waste management is about more than just recycling.
An inconclusive COAG meeting comes after years of inquiries, announcements, initiatives, investigations and reviews. Australia is no closer to actually tackling our waste problems.
Australia’s recycling woes belong to everyone, from households to government to business. It’s time to stop pointing fingers and get to work on a solution.
Ben Madden, University of Technology Sydney and Nick Florin, University of Technology Sydney
Too much recyclable packaging is still finding its way into landfill - and plastic is the biggest culprit, with two-thirds going unrecovered, according to a new analysis.
Since China stopped accepting Australia’s recyclable plastic, the majority of exported plastic waste is now going to developing nations in South East Asia.
This year’s recycling crisis has prompted the federal government to pledge a move towards an economy in which materials are kept in use for as long as possible. But it still has a long way to go.
You might know expanded polystyrene as packing foam, but it’s a nightmare to recycle. Why not just turn it into something useful (or beautiful) instead?
Plastic can only be recycled a few times before it becomes useless. But even non-recyclable plastic can be used to help produce petrol and diesel. Could this process help overcome the recycling crisis?
Both short- and long-term solutions are needed to solve Australia’s recycling crisis. State and federal ministers are pursuing some promising avenues, but they need to cast the net much wider.