War on Waste 2017

In the 1960's, Australians were considered amongst the best in the world when it came to the ways they dealt with waste. Many recycling programs - especially those involving paper and newspaper - were pioneered in Australia. In the late-60's and 1970's, the launch of the Keep Australia Beautiful campaign put the issue of waste at the forefront of the national consciousness. But in recent decades, the combined effects of consumer demand, supermarket policies and cynicism about the effectiveness of waste and recycling campaigns has seen a surge in the volume of waste we produce as a nation. Craig Reucassel takes a critical and first-hand look at household, retail and farming waste in Australia and asks, what has changed in the Australian psyche, and in our consumer culture, that has led us to become among the most wasteful nations in the developed world? We'll ask why Australians are generating millions of tonnes more waste every year - in food, fashion, packaging, electronics and more. We'll discover the truth about where various kinds of waste actually end up, and learn what we can do to reduce the staggering volumes we produce. Importantly, we'll project into the future. With the amount of waste increasing in Australia by nearly 8% a year, we'll also ask what happens if we do nothing? Is it time for us, as a nation, to seriously re-examine the ways we consume and dispose of consumer items?—Anonymous