We need to continue recycling and consuming less, but we also have to put pressure on corporations to do their part! Too long have lobbyists and gov put all the blame on the consumer. Smarter packaging, less plastic use, sustainable materials.

The plastic industry is planning on manufacturing significantly more single-use plastic in the coming decades. I can’t remember the pledge, but there is no point trying to put it on the consumer, when the makers of the damn stuff are using the free market to grow their industry with no consequences except more profit. It must be legislated, and the companies must go out of business, or change to renewable packaging technology.

Maybe try targeting the companies that pack things in plastic? How many things are in 5 different pieces of plastic

Plastic is not recyclable on and on and on and on. "Recycling" is not the answer. Please stop staying recycling

omfg, no mandates, why do you think we have this problem in the first place, companies need to do better, find green alternatives, like wtf why not tax them.

For those that have actually been to multiple countries would know that we're decades behind countries like Japan, China and Korea. They have been very strict in regards to sorting recycling and adhering to laws. Not just recycling but leading in electric vehicles too.

My god I hate politicians; ".....it adds cost". There's a cost to recycle and there a cost to bury it. Regulation adds a direct cost to the consumer and/or manufacturer (and motivates them to change and improve) and saves the environment, where as burying it adds an indirect cost to the tax payer and an ongoing cost to the environment and probably future generation. The same stupid argument is used for nearly every environment issue.

I love how most of this is just blaming people instead of the companies creating these products.

Plastic isn't infinitely recyclable anyway. It only delays the problem by recycling it. Reusables are a much better alternative. Find "zero waste" or "bulk stores" locally. Plus, they typically sell things that are made locally. Which means less emissions getting the products to the store!

why aren't we passing laws that result in producers making their products and packing out of materials that are more easily recyclable? businesses that make the effort and cost to increase recyclability should be rewarded not disadvantaged.

You cannot comprehend the face palm I initiated the second they wanted to fix recycling with an app. You can't fix everything with an app stop it already.

I hope the schools in Australia start educating the young ones about the impacts of these plastic materials and recycling from a young age so it gets reinforced into the minds of the society the impact our lack of awareness has on the environment!

If products in non recyclable containers/packages were taxed to make them more expensive than their recyclable/reusable competitors, that would make a major difference in our buying habits.

Pity they're not investing as much money in the recycling & renewables industries as they invest in the mining industry...

This problem is a visual problem of our self-centered corporate bureaucratic ideology. Both in terms of offshoring our problems that are in the too-hard-basket, and consumerism. Using the third world as the first world's stepping stone for comfort has long been a feature (not a bug) of capitalism. Without the global south, we wouldn't have nice things, for cheap. The system inherently needs to exploit for profit. Now, we are seeing a larger problem emerge with health and the chemicals that are used to make plastics, and how corporations have been skirting around regulation by simply coming up with new unregulated chemicals to keep their products preserved / produced in plastics, all which tend to leech into the food we eat - causing a build-up of toxins in our bodies that we cannot avoid since plastics are used everywhere and for almost everything, from the production line (i.e., plastic pipes from silo to silo) to the grocery shop (i.e., wrapping, etc). These chemicals, such as Bisphenol-A (a hormone disruptor, banned in Australia - but also doesn't mean we are in the clear. See: skirting around regulation above), potentially cause irrevocable harm to our health. We are completely messing up this planet and it's inhabitants solely on the basis of profit, and plastics are a clear indicator of how bad this problem has become. Also: offloading this problem onto the consumer will do barely anything, it needs to be tackled at the source - Coca-Cola for example refused to stop using PET bottles, which make up a massive portion of the plastic waste that exists. They say that "consumers still want plastic bottles", so they maintain their stance, and continue to produce the waste.

Thanks for this piece ABC, but in my local area Plastic Bags can abosolutely go in kurbside collection! I believe more and more local councils are in fact recycling soft plastics. Would encourage and update or mention of this in the video, to better inform the audience.

Get the companies to colour the packages or a part of it in the same colour as our bins

@6:10 classic scotty, YeAh bILlIoN DOLlerS, but in a once-off installment of 160 Million to go to my party seats unchecked

Blame the greedy corporations who create, use and sell the packages!

Is this one Facebook, would love to share it there. Has they released the app on which bin to use

plastic degrades after being recycled 2 or 3 times at most, it cannot go round and round so it will just end up in a landfill anyway. what we really need to do is convert it into the fuels they were derived from and use it in an environmentally friendly way, such as in a power plant with an algae farm attached to the exhaust.

The Mobius Loop (the triangle) Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Recycling is at the end people. Save your money and waste and think do I really need this before purchasing. I do my best to follow a Zero/low waste lifestyle. Bea Johnson the author of Zero Waste Home mentions the 5 R's (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot/compost). I loved this video, shows how much we are growing as a country to deal with our own waste.

Fantastic video 🙌🙌

The info graphics make this video!!

I think it's time we revisited this space. As a waste educator, I know times have changed recently, and we need up-to-date information and reporting on it all to keep the encouragement, celebration and momentum up for our Australian residents, without our participation and practice we will go backwards. We need to keep debunking old ideas and misinformation about waste and recycling and push the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle message louder and with more acceptance to do so.

why havent we been using paper bags for shopping all this time ? or string bags made from hemp.

Would love to see this again for 2022 and how far we've come. We still got a long way to go, but I'm so glad Australia is making strides. I aim for zero waste in my house and how little waste I end up having in my red bin means I can have it collected every second week. Recycling needs to be more often! Hahaha

the cardboard bread tags are a step in the right direction but with it being a small size it will most likely be sorted out as unprofitable and just sent to the landfill anyway if made out of aluminium or steel i think they will get more collected than just turned into trash

We *do* need to start with ourselves, then with each other, then with the big corporations. In some European countries, they protest by buying products they need, and the ones that have unnecessary plastic packaging are dumped in the shopping centre that sells them in the first place. You bought parsley with that annoying plastic around it from woolies? Give it back to woolies to teach them a lesson!

This is why hiring skip bins services is advantageous because it ensures that your waste is properly sorted. A dedicated team is in charge of separating recyclable materials from the rest. You can rest easy knowing that your garbage is being disposed of properly.

The government needs to do more for recycling Check German’s recycling policies

We have the same problems with plastic here in the US. But the part about manufacturers using more recycled plastic doesn't apply here. Also, he didn't mention that recycled plastic must be mixed with virgin plastic when it's recycled, and plastic can be recycled only 3 times.

Can you keep recycling a water bottle once it it's made out of recycled material and have an endless recycle loop?

The pronunciation of ton and tonne is the same.

All the factories need to start produce more refills packet. Example refills shower gel, refills shampoo, refills dishwashing liquid, refills soy sauce, tomatoes sauce etc. With refills we can reduce the use of plastic bottles & glass bottles. Good to heard gov start invest on recycling, this opportunity could increase job opportunities too. Well done Australia👏🏽

we need more bins /glass and cans / plastic / paper and card board bigger general waste bin way to small wonder why people the other bins think about it

Why is the usage of plastic going to increase when we're already banning single use plastic....?!? 🤔. Even if our population is increasing

Great video, great content, great editing. Well done ABC.

We need to also invest in a way that the melting down process of plastics can create energy/power that can lower the costs of these sorting/recycling centres.

4:28 - It should be mentioned that the big companies selling the plastic way back then, and associated groups, are the ones who funded those recycling ads, as a way for people to focus the blame on each other, instead of these companies who already knew recycling was largely a scam to pacify the public into thinking it's all fine.

Why don't we just take what containers we need to the store and then fill them up.? Example would be a milk jug. How many times can you refill it..? This could be done to a myriad of things.

Generally if you buy food in packaging it's not very good for you. So buy unpackaged food or choose paper wrapping.

Kudos to tip top at least for ridding the world of those damn plastic bag tags. Tax the hell outta the supermarket duopoly who continue selling non ♻️

I’m a garbage truck driver, I’m not a greenie hippie by any means but growing up I encouraged my family to do the right thing with our waste, making sure anything recyclable was recycled in the household, and every bit of food waste was put in the green bin which my council has accepted since the early 2000s, it’s just a no brained why send renewable resources to be buried in the ground. I primarily only collect garbage, seeing the amount of disregard from residents is frustrating, the amount of mainstream recycling I see enter my truck is astonishing, 1/4 of my load would easily be items that could’ve been recycled or processed via the green bin. Even more frustrating is how much excessive nonsense non recyclable packaging is on the market. There’s a lot of windblown litter that occurs from loose soft plastics during the collection process. I really don’t see the 2025 bid for 100% green packaging happening.

We need funds to support Start up industry in recycling

Any levy or tax placed on producers, will ALSO be 100% passed on to consumers.

Best we can do is reuse or refuse as much as possible unfortunately most first world ppl think there to important to do there part

can we talk about the 'Tupperware Party' at 4:12 please?

We sent our recycling to China too? When did this happen? No wonder we have problems.

Putting cardboard with glass plastic and the rest put that in a dumb truck and crash it together very smart humans put it in the bin humans need to sort it to.

It's not China's fault, we were simply offloading the problem overseas. Stop using plastic, use more glass, mandate a specific glass mix for containers to make recycling easier. Tax plastic packaging to encourage systemic change.

I used to use the plastic shopping bags for disposing of my household rubbish (instead of bin liners). I thought we'd come up with a biodegradable bag? Now I have to buy plastic bin liners. Where's the gain in this equation?

float tank conveyor system

Could some/any industries use 20:05 /repurpose certain rubbish and/or synthetic, plastics etc TO BURN (these rubbish items) for THEIR FUEL in manufacturing Safely??? 20:31

big money to be made .if u can figure out how to get rid of plastic

One the the government needs to do, is incentivise industry to recycle automotive glass. Currently all of it gets sent to landfill

So much happy music around so much depressing content :(

Do you think we have gotten anywhere? QLD needs help immediately with this issue

Planned obsolescence tax at pos. To pay for recycling and/or disposal or exempt if invest in new recycling of products research or Materials science so mfr in biodegradable plastics etc. net waste zero by 2050.

Capitalist won't let plastic manufacturing to stop, it's a billion dollars industry 😢

I want to know whether it's ecologically worthwhile to use the water it takes to clean out the peanut butter and detergent/ shampoo containers to send them to recycling.

Come to Armidale number 1 in Australia

What about aluminium foil?

If really like to believe we can get the recycling issue done …. But people are literally stupid when it comes to plastics ….

Recycling isn't the answer, we need to stop using plastic altogether

Some High end restaurant use paper box.

It will not be about recycling better, but rather using differently, less

Let's use ecosia 👍🌱🌳

Those good old days where those recycling snobs were everywhere and in your face. The joke is on them.

So, tiny paper sticker should be use on fruit instead of plastic.

5:40 - If we haven't generated more household landfill since our 1996 levels that's a pretty amazing achievement. Our population was 18.31 million at the time so its a 40% increase in people with a 0% increase in non-recycled household waste!

The 'merry little jingle' played during the bit that mentions PRINGLES packets, is just plain offensive, in that it makes LIGHT of the HEAVIEST part of the waste problem! How appropriate would it be to have a 'happy tune' accompanying someone LITTERING! Those who PROFIT must PAY, but corporations manipulate governments into not demanding that they do so, and instead, the CONSUMER is named, blamed, shamed & FINED, for being 'irresponsible'. This whole issue is blatantly cruel, and patently absurd!

It's returnsies. Most stuff we by that is recycled came from China - the real issue, when we break it down, is mass corporatization and consumerism. This comes of the problematic Debt & Inflationary Monetary system. We need to get back to locally produce goods, services and assets where we can. Convert the money system to a credit and resource system, with certain goods, services and assets built to last and/or built from renewable and biodegradable. Yet, Corporates will not do this - An example; When they were looking at a standardized computer coding, binary was chosen over ternary because it was cheap to build the computers and transistors. Even though long term, ternary would have been a better option due to the increased computing power and data storage. So we find ourselves with an alternate option, but binary being wide spread with all coding, apps and hardware based off it, not corporate will commit commercial suicide to change. Only a global agreement to roll in, roll out will work. You can apply this to almost anything. From out fuel and electricity production, food & fibre, mining - even the problem of automation. We will get a major benefit from automation, including cutting down on waste, but the fear is job losses. Yet, if we configured the monetary system as explained briefly earlier, people would be able to work much less, like 3x8hr shifts per week, while production of goods, services and assets would remain at current capacities, if not more with automation efficiencies. Again though, just as hydrogen was realized 100 years ago as a good fuel source, it competed with the established Oil Industry, which just got stronger and accessed cheaper extractions in the mid east. Ever wonder what is all about - it is all about control of money, resources and wealth, but not for our benefits, for those few in the purple circle.

No one’s forcing you to buy shitty plastic forks and balloons

Robotics will further improve recovery rates.

Ocean 🌊 hero browser 👍

all i know is that the old plastic bags used to breakdown, these new plastic bags (which i now have a cupboard full of) dont break down,, even in water, i have both bags in my fish tank, both dont affect the fishees.

in 200 years earth will be twice the diameter and real estate will be half the price.

soft plastics can be recycled, maybe they should say why they dont do it.

Do more government. Mandate manufacturers use recycled plastics.

I cant help adding a few moot ethicallly/morally reprehensible points. 1: Plastic was originally invented using WASTE from the OIL/PETROLEUM industry, so THEY ought to bear the primary responsibility for not disposing of it in the first place! 2: The main recycling logo (triangular arrows with a number) was designed BY PLASTIC MANUFACTURERS, and is intentionally misleading, since many of those numbers denote UNrecyclable type of plastic, and the entire scheme places ALL the responsibility on the CONSUMER not the companies/corporations who PROFIT from selling it to consumers. 3: The most disturbing concept for me is that we are encouraged to EARN MONEY by getting a 'refund', when in fact that amount was PAID IN ADVANCE as a DEPOSIT which creates EXTRA PROFIT for producers, whether it is recycled or not. And 4: (The most aggregious, harmful and deceitful of all) Coca Cola Amatil have aggressively lobbied against recycling for decades, and now they have relented to a MINISULE, and INSIGNIFICANT degree, their 'aluminium cans' are PLASTIC with a paint-thin layer of aluminium on the outside! It a monumentally and utterly disgusting, dangerous, despicable and dastardly act of total disrespect for people and the planet! It is sickening to witness such guilt, responsibility, and angst heaped upon the consumer, at the very end of the chain of production, by of a group of industries that amasses UNCONSCIONABLE PROFIT at every stage of the process.

Waste problem…get rid of the wasteman and give back the stolen land

And finally, regarding the final comment of this video. How WRONG is it to tell consumers that they must STOP CREATING WASTE, when all they have done is BUY a product, and given no alternative, unless we decide to hunt and gather, on mass, and boycott the entire capitalist construct. I find being accused of CREATING WASTE extremely offensive, when the true 'creator' is glaringly obvious

False. Meat trays (non foam kind) can go into recycling in South Australia.

Why are all the comments here better informed than the writers/researchers of this story?! Come on ABC!!

Why don't they just shoot the plastic into the sun? Elon Musk needs to get on that.

Hello there

Very encouraging there !!! DO SHOW THIS SEGMENT ON TV/ ads / CURRENT AFFAIR / 4 Corners ReportBack. Throughout year many times. Hopefully by 3rd - 4th occasion many would take up responsibility in care of Choice& Disposal as not ALL 7 types of plastic are YET FULLY RECYCLED !!

Do you really expect consumers to waste time with an app to check if things are recyclable? Please...

Here it is folks, the Australian Liberal Party promo department. Lady at the end can forget all about her 'virgin tax'.

I hate balloons

This whole bread bag closure thing is breaking my brain. Do they understand how much more efficient it is to make plastic than it is to make cardboard? Why was their go-to thing just switching to a renewable, recyclable solution, when most bread bag closures are perfectly fit for reuse? Why is realise never the option? I don't understand. Reuse through buyback from councils will require no more sorting than recycling will, and require far fewer resources. What in the hell 🤦

tongs

Plasma waste to energy. Capture the modest particulate generated. Use it to maintain consumable products in society.

Do you all pronounce tonne as "tohn" instead of "tuhn" down there?

Received a plastic bag from woolies just the other day.

Lol, is this just a promo piece for that war on waste show ABC made?... cause I'm pretty sure it was only middle class yuppys that watched that. So we're gunna rely on consumer behavior to fix the issue of waste ? Lol.

People are just lazy and don't care.

Where do you get your information from? In the EU is producing of those light bags, plasticforks (etc), straws forbidden. From January 2022 on it is even forbidden to give them to costumers, if they have leftovers or not. The green dot may have been an idea at first to reduce the landfill, but thats 30 years ago. And it was always ment to be recycled and it did happen since many, many years in our factorys. I can't understand why you guys think its worthless. You don't even understand how it really works. Do your homework before sharing and speading those not fully researched "documentations" worldwide 🤬

totally off topic but how you gonna do us like that @ 7:59 Australia???? does that look anything like Aotearoa/NZ???? no, I don't think so and as our only neighbor you should know that 🤦🏻‍♀️ I guess you think we should be lucky to even be on a map