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Returning: War on Waste

Craig Reucassel returns with a follow-up to ABC's hit series on recycling.

As promised, Craig Reucassel returns with a follow-up to War on Waste.

In this special he updates on recycling issues raised in the series and tracks down Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg.

War on Waste kick started conversations around the country about the staggering amount of waste Australians create every year. From food, fashion to the humble coffee cup, the series challenged pre-conceived ideas and forced Australians to change their behaviours, attitudes and habits.

While many Australians embraced the #BYOCoffeeCup movement, the battle is far from over when convenience store, 7 Eleven, confess that 70 million disposable cups are sold from their stores alone. They share their vision to combat the problem.

Craig started the #SizeDoesn’tMatter campaign and encouraged people to embrace imperfect produce to help reduce the amount of food waste happening on Aussie farms. In this episode he travels back to the banana farms for a surprising update. He also visits the major supermarkets to see how the groundswell of public outrage has encouraged them to shift their thinking about cosmetic standards and their responsibility around the recycling of soft plastics.

More than 17 billion plastic bottles and cans are consumed by Australians each year, Craig visits a glass recycler to show any doubters what happens to their kerbside recycling and finds out that one solution for better recycling is South Australia’s Container Deposit Scheme. It’s been running successfully for over 40 years and he questions why it hasn’t been adopted in all States.

Craig sends a compelling message to the politicians, who are continually dodging the issues, including Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews about Victoria’s recycling problems and he eventually tracks down the Federal Environment Minister, Josh Frydenberg, to find out why banning plastic bags is not a National issue.

Craig also meets some mini waste warriors and learns about their school’s inspiring bin separation system. It’s initiatives like these that will change the environment they are set to inherit.

War on Waste is compelling viewing for all Australians. It’s been instrumental in raising awareness and fostering a better understanding of what individuals and communities can do to help the environment by reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfill every year.

Sunday 3rd December at 7.40pm on ABC.

6 Responses

  1. Four Corners did an exposé on the scandal that is the recycling industry a couple of months ago which left many unanswered question… I was hoping there would be a follow up on that as well but apparently not.

  2. Never mind visiting a glass recycling plant, what about the dirty little secret regarding where a lot of the plastic that we put in our recycling bins ends up? Much of it is shipped overseas. Some is actually recycled, some is stockpiled, some is burnt for electricity generation, and some is just dumped.

      1. Yeah, thought that was great, too. I’m interested in what percentage of the plastic that we put into our bins is actually recycled. I know it varies considerably depending on the type.

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