War on Waste: Aug 8

In the final episode of War on Waste Craig Reucassel will turn his attention to the environmental cost of our disposable fashion habits (including check shirts?).

He’ll meet a ‘fast fashion’ influencer in an effort to understand why we’re buying so much cheap clothing, and then throwing so much of it away. Can he encourage all of us to wear our clothes longer and value them more, so they don’t end up in landfill?

He’ll meet some waste warriors who are on the front line in the battle to rescue unwanted fashion items from going to waste. In Melbourne he visits Second Stitch – a social enterprise run by women from diverse backgrounds, that encourages clothing repair in an effort to extend the life of clothes. In Sydney he visits Thread Together, an organisation that receives unwanted new clothes from retailers and re-distributes them to those in need.

As well, Craig goes undercover to find out where some of our clothes sent for recycling might really be ending up. How much is actually being recycled, and how much still ends up as waste?

Craig meets Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to ask whether politicians are doing enough to address our national waste crisis. Could they be investing more to help develop recycling infrastructure in Australia, and what stricter controls can they place on the wasteful practices of manufacturers and retailers?

8:30pm Tuesday on ABC.