The GREEN Page

THIS WEEK IN SUSTAINABILITY

NEW SERIES OF THE WAR ON WASTE

Tune in on Tuesdays at 8:30 pm on the ABC or catch up on iView. Follow Craig as he looks for answers and solutions to our waste problems.

Episode 1

Craig shows the amount of plastic generated by one person each year. He visits families in a Sydney street to learn what they put into their recycling bin. 

Did you know that Cottee’s cordial containers are made of PVC plastic and can’t be recycled?

Did you know that long life milk containers are made of different materials and can’t be recycled?

Craig finds out that families are stock piling soft plastics awaiting a new scheme following the collapse of Red Cycle. He highlights volunteers that have taken on responsibility for other people’s waste namely pharmaceutical companies. Craig clears a warehouse and returns mountains of blister packets to make a point. 

Craig visits a factory in South Australia that clears waste in record time. Conveyer belts sort, break down and create new recycled containers. The new items are on the shelves within six weeks. Craig is inspired and sets a challenge for a group of young engineers to design sustainable containers to replace the Cottee’s container. 

On a serious note, he is concerned with the amount of plastic in our environment and takes the drastic step to have a blood test. You will find the results very surprising.