War On Waste - Series 1 (ATOM Study Guide)

Craig Reucassel is on a mission to uncover how much waste we produce as a nation and to learn how, together, we can all do something about it, when he presents this thought-provoking three-part documentary series War on Waste.

No stranger to confrontation, over the series Craig takes on the big supermarkets, challenges Australians to reduce their waste, discovers what really happens to our recycling, and uncovers some shocking truths about Australia's wasteful fashion industry.

Can we, as a nation, force big businesses to waste less? Can we all do a little bit better?

In the 1960s many recycling programs – especially those involving paper and newspaper – were pioneered in Australia. In the late 60s and 70s, the launch of the Keep Australia Beautiful campaign put the issue of waste at the forefront of the national consciousness.

But in recent decades, the combined effects of consumer demand, supermarket policies and cynicism about the effectiveness of waste and recycling campaigns has seen a surge in the volume of waste we produce as a nation.

Craig takes a critical and first-hand look at household, retail and farming waste in Australia and asks what has changed in the Australian psyche, and in our consumer culture that has led us to become among the most wasteful nations in the developed world? He asks why Australians are generating millions of tonnes more waste every year – in food, fashion, plastics, coffee cups and more. He discovers the truth about where various kinds of waste actually ends up and learns what we can do to reduce the staggering volumes we produce.

Importantly he projects into the future. With the amount of waste increasing in Australia by nearly 8% a year, he asks what will happen if we do nothing? Is it time for us as a nation to seriously re-examine the ways we consume and dispose of consumer items?

Curriculum Guidelines

War on Waste would be an excellent program to show students from middle primary to upper secondary – levels 4 – 12. Waste/rubbish/trash/garbage is something that is everywhere. While some students may respond to the material in all three episodes, for years 4 – 8, episodes 1 and 2 may be more engaging and directly relevant to younger students than episode 3 which is focused principally on 'fast' fashion and coffee cups as generators of waste. 

We all contribute to our wasteful society as we all buy and throw stuff away quite regularly, whether this is food, clothes, disposable coffee cups, water and other drink bottles, electronic gear such as phones, computers, televisions, printers, juicers and many other household appliances… as well as the endless plastic packaging and bags that are a major waste problem.  'It costs too much to fix so let’s buy another one'. 

Many students may be members of school communities that are already encouraging active awareness of waste and the need to recycle waste materials, while others may also belong to households that encourage family members to be careful about what they buy and what they do with the waste their household generates.

But, as consuming, rejecting and throwing away are increasingly taken for granted as part of 21st century life, this program shows us where all this stuff ends up. Importantly, it demonstrates in powerful visual images some of the damaging consequences of thoughtless waste disposal.

These programs provide information that is both shocking and thought provoking, illustrating the daily waste creation we all have responsibility for. It addresses many issues raised in the cross-curriculum priority, Sustainability, in the Australian National Curriculum, addressing the ongoing capacity of earth to maintain all life.