The amount of landfill in Australia is expected to rise since China is no longer buying our recycling waste. But there are easy solutions to this big problem.
Nicolás Boullosa/flickr
Ipswich Council has stopped recycling and it’s likely that others around Australia will follow suit.
Shutterstock
New research has found a way to speed up enzymes that break down the PET plastic in bottles.
Not as green as you might think.
Lego
Truly green plastic requires more than sustainable raw materials.
Shutterstock
Plant-based, sustainable plastics may hold many of the answers to our plastic problems.
Generally once a fortnight, someone at home will place the recycling bin out for a truck to drive past and empty your bin.
Marcella Cheng/The Conversation
Magnets, air blowers, centrifuges, crushers: your recyclables go through a lot before they get turned into something else.
Meryll/Shutterstock.com
The science is clear but to improve plastic literacy, we need the arts. Here’s why.
Albert Karimov / shutterstock
China is no longer importing the world’s recyclable plastic – so what should we do instead?
Canadians double their waste output during the holiday season.
(Shutterstock)
Canadians are a wasteful bunch, especially during the holidays. Redesign your holidays this year to cut back on garbage and food waste.
Imported laptop housings, Guiyu, China.
Basel Action Network
China, which recycles much of the world’s waste material, is slashing its scrap imports. This move could force the United States and Europe to boost recycling instead of shipping trash overseas.
Cities like Melbourne are a store for such huge amounts of resources that they could be used as urban mines.
Donaldytong (own work)/Wikimedia
With an ever-increasing cost to extract dwindling raw materials, it’s time to look at cities as urban mines. We’re developing the tools to do that.
vchal/Shutterstock.com
Everyone knows that plastic waste is an environmental problem. So let’s get creative with it.
The Victorian government has a new proposal to ban plastic bags. What is it missing?
suvajit/pixabay
Victoria’s proposed ban on single-use plastic bags is a step forward, but what about all the other unnecessary packaging? A truly effective waste policy should offer a comprehensive plan for packaging.
Alex Hofford/EPA
The world’s largest recyclable materials importer will leave other countries searching for alternative waste management solutions.
Firefighters at the Coolaroo recycling plant earlier this month.
AAP Image/Mal Fairclough
The Victorian government is auditing every recycling facility in the state after a disastrous fire at Coolaroo. It raises a bigger issue: we don’t know how many plants Australia has or where they are.
What will we do for bin liners now?
AAP Image/James Ross
Banning single-use plastic bags makes sense, as long as it doesn’t usher in behaviours that are just as bad, or worse – like over-using heavier bags made of even more plastic.
What if you had somewhere quick and easy to put food waste, instead of being blamed for wasting it?
Gary Perkin/Shutterstock
New research shows most people try to shop and cook carefully – the real problem with food waste is infrastructure.
Reusing and recycling of plastic waste makes more sense for Kenya than a ban.
Reuters/Luc Gnago
The plastic bag ban doesn’t consider the impact it will have on Kenya’s economy or consider other environmental alternatives.
Recycling should be seen as a last defence against landfill.
Lance/Flickr
In the rush to increase recycling, we should remember that reducing waste in the first place is a much a higher priority.
A wastepicker working in the streets of Casablanca. (Photo Pascal Garret, July 2013)
www.bab-el-louk.org
Despite being outcasts in Moroccan society, waste collectors defend their profession as protectors of the environment.
Your recycling doesn’t have to be sparkling clean.
Monticello/Shutterstock.com
Many people are confused about what they can and can’t recycle, and whether they need to clean everything before it goes in the bin. The best plan is to check the details with your local council.