Environmental issues; big picture

Sustainable practices are resurging with modern advancements.

The urgent need for a sustainable approach to our environmental practices has become a major public concern in recent years, with waste management and recycling being notable examples.

From household worm farms to the Gen Z uptake of ‘thrifting’, and baking sourdough on weekends, we now find ourselves within an era where considering the resources we use, and discard, is becoming more common.

Yet these are not new ideas; sustainable management of resources has been practiced for millennia by communities worldwide. It is a returning to some of these practices, alongside the development of technological solutions, systems change, and new social norms that will create lasting sustainability.

Evolution of modern waste management and recycling

The modern waste management and recycling movement has been evolving for decades. The 1960s and 1970s saw renewed interest in environmental issues, particularly centred around topics such as pollution, deforestation, and nuclear waste. Container deposit schemes (such as the first container deposit scheme in South Australia in 1977) and the implementation of kerbside recycling in many higher income countries through the late 1980s and early 1990s saw the uptake of mass household and industrial recycling and waste management. Environmental messaging around this time was often cantered around litter, for example the Australian advertisement, from 1983, Do the right thing:

Plastic concerns and the waste-free movement

The more recent public awareness of climate change, and concern around ocean plastics (such as the great pacific garbage patch, and the viral turtle video) led to a resurgence in concerns around plastics and resulted in the waste-free movement. Some examples include waste-free lunch tool kit developed by Government of Western Australia (2019), Kathryn Kellogg’s one-jar-of-waste, and Zero Waste Victoria a non-profit, volunteer-driven run organisation in Victoria, Australia.

We have seen recent plastic bag bans, the roll out of early efforts in kerbside composting, and movements towards finding solutions to dispose coffee cups. In tandem it is now more important than ever for organisations to take their recycling and waste management practices seriously (more on why in the following steps).

Check out the history of recycling timeline, which highlights key moments and innovations that have shaped recycling practices over the years.

Your waste-free story

Reflect on your own experiences and observations related to achieving a waste-free lifestyle and recycling initiatives. Consider your own actions as well as those you’ve witnessed from individuals, governments, or organisations.

Share your thoughts in the comment section, including a brief summary of the location and the specific example you’re discussing. Whether it’s a success story or valuable lessons learned from failures, your insights can inspire others!