Latest news with #LisaGiven
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jetstar passenger request raises questions about popular menu items: 'Do better'
On a Thursday afternoon Jetstar flight, just minutes after meals were eaten, an attendant pushing a trolley asked passengers to separate their rubbish. 'Jetstar aims to recycle as much as possible,' the employee said. In Australia, it's a legal requirement passengers follow directions from flight crews, so everyone dutifully decoupled their beer bottles, Pringles packets, noodle boxes and forks. The attendant placed each item into separate plastic bags, but how many items were actually recycled remains a mystery. Most of us have been sorting our rubbish to help the planet for decades, but airlines have only recently started in-flight recycling of waste generated by the menu items they sell. Sustainability experts have welcomed the change, but say airlines must be completely transparent about their recycling efforts. Professor Lisa Given, an expert in innovation at RMIT, advocates for improvements in corporate social responsibility. She believes airlines have an added obligation to keep customers informed about waste processing because they assume responsibility for its processing by collecting it. 'Consumers need transparency… We want to see exactly what the airlines are doing on their side, and recycling is a big part of that,' she told Yahoo News. Jeff Angel, founder of waste-reduction non-profit Total Environment Centre, agrees, noting environment-conscious travellers are concerned about what happens to their rubbish. 'There's a very strong responsibility on the airlines to come clean on exactly what they're doing with recycling, and do better,' he said. 'If companies want to avoid concerns about greenwashing, they need to be rigorously transparent.' On international flights, it's often a biosecurity requirement that airlines hand over their waste to authorities, but domestically they have control over the rubbish they generate. Jetstar's onboard recycling program for domestic flights began in June 2023, and since then, it's 'collected' an impressive 135 tonnes, of which 60 tonnes was in the 2024 fiscal year. "While we're proud of their efforts, we know there's more work to do to enhance the program," its head of cabin crew Andrew Sinclair told Yahoo in a statement. 'We're continuing to work on improving our waste reduction and recycling initiatives, including sourcing in-flight products that use recyclable materials where possible, as well as making changes to meal packaging.' Virgin Australia is yet to begin in-flight recycling outside of Western Australia, but is in the process of changing waste providers to expand the practice to the east coast. "We recognise that we have a way to go but are actively progressing our key initiatives," a Virgin spokesperson said. Qantas's sustainability efforts are harder to understand. Yahoo sent several questions to the airline nine days ago, but it has yet to deliver a response. According to the airline's 2024 sustainability report, it had in-flight recycling covering 85 per cent of its networks, and collected 165 tonnes of commingled recycling. Twenty-five per cent of its onshore recoverable waste was collected for recycling or reuse. Given would like to see airlines engage more about how they're becoming more sustainable, but she notes they need to have facts and figures to share. 'We're a captive audience when we're on a plane, there's an opportunity during the messages about putting on our seatbelts for takeoff and landing. There are a lot of communication mechanisms for airlines to tell their stories, but the critical thing is the story needs to be there in the first place,' she said. 'If their recycling story is a good one, I'm sure that they would want to put that in front of their consumer base," she added. Sustainability is not just about recycling. Another important factor is how items like packaging, in-flight menus, and even garbage bags are produced in the first place. In particular, many customers want to be assured the wood and paper used on board are not sourced from forests where endangered species live. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is an assurance that the trees are harvested responsibly. Virgin's menus are FSC-certified and have an anti-bacterial covering that makes them more resilient, reducing wastage by up to 30 per cent. Its boarding passes, bag tags, and sick bags are also certified. Because personal information is printed on boarding passes, Virgin leaves it up to customers to recycle them independently. Bag tags can also go in the yellow bin, but only if the eyelet and string are removed. Sick bags are more of a problem because they're coated in plastic to prevent them from leaking. Other items used on Virgin flights, including tray liners, cart seals, napkins and water bottles, are made from 100 per cent recycled materials. We were unable to determine whether Qantas or Jetstar use ethically sourced paper. However, one notable Qantas achievement is that it began progressively switching from plastic cutlery to FSC-approved wooden alternatives in 2001. When it comes to plastic bags, all of those used in toilets are made from 100 per cent recycled plastic. The airline claims it hasn't been able to find a recycled product strong enough for its catering bags, but this is currently under review. Jetstar and Qantas did not provide any information on this subject to Yahoo. In France, short-haul flights have been banned to push travellers onto trains, which are more environmentally friendly. Fast trains are already the preferred option for domestic travel in Japan and China, and there are promises of similar services being developed in Australia, which if delivered could put pressure on airlines to lift their game. All three airlines have bold ambitions to have zero landfill, excluding quarantine waste, with Qantas and Jetstar committing to 2030 and Virgin 2032. While this is commendable, many consumers are sceptical when companies make announcements that won't be achieved until well into the future. For instance, Toohey's announced it would phase out single-use plastic by the end of 2025, but that proved 'expensive' and the beer company said it needed more time. Coca-Cola also walked backwards on its plastic reduction commitments. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Epoch Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Experts Call for Digital Shift Amid Rising Election Waste
Australia's federal election has generated a record amount of paper, plastic, and cardboard waste, prompting experts to call for a shift to more sustainable—and possibly digital—voting methods. The Australian Electoral Commission says it prints around 55 million ballot papers, 25,000 copies of the electoral roll, and 12 million household guides. Along with that are 250,000 pencils and 250,000 There are also 80,000 cardboard ballot boxes, 1.4 million plastic security seals, and 20,000 lanyards—all of which will eventually head to a recycling station or landfill. It does not just happen once every three years at a federal election but is repeated on a smaller scale for every state and territory election and, on a larger scale, for every council and shire. The problem is only going to get bigger as the population grows: the 2025 federal election was Australia's biggest yet, with 710,000 more people on the electoral roll than in 2022. Calls for Reform The growing scale of elections has prompted calls to explore waste-minimising alternatives. Professor of Information Sciences at RMIT University, Lisa Given, thinks it's time to consider a more efficient approach to creating, using, recycling, and disposing of election materials, including possibly switching to online voting. Related Stories 3/12/2025 11/17/2024 'We need to think creatively about this,' Professor Given said. 'I'm of the view that if I can do my banking online and it's relatively secure, there must be a way for that to be scaled to other industries.' Mandatory ID Card a Prerequisite She pointed to Estonia, which has However, it relies on a mandatory ID card, which also allows Estonians to access a range of services, including accessing health records, government services, and secure digital signatures. Australians are required to vote in person, so online voting would require changes to the law. 'I think what we want to see is that the government actually decides, 'Hey, we should explore this and see what's possible,'' Given said. Current Efforts and Limitations Some Australian jurisdictions have begun experimenting with digital tools. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Electoral Commission In New South Wales (NSW), the Electoral Commission has issued a formal request for information (RFI) on internet voting systems, but for now, the technology will be available only to an estimated 4,000 blind or low-vision voters in the state at the 2027 state election. Environmental Costs Beyond Paper Others argue that while digital voting remains controversial, Australia could take simpler steps to reduce election waste. University of Adelaide political analyst Clem Macintyre said he was 'not a fan' of online voting, citing global concerns about electoral integrity. 'I think while we've got the mood around the world where the results of elections that appear clear-cut and honest are doubted, the more physical evidence you can show for an outcome, the better,' he said. However, he would favour a ban on corflute signs—many of which are not recycled—similar to that imposed by South Australia, and an end to how-to-vote cards. 'They're generally single-use, and the more that we can just stop creating them, the better off the environment is going to be,' he said. Most councils require corflutes to be collected within seven days of an election, but no rules govern their reuse or disposal. While they are made from recyclable polypropylene, a lightweight plastic, most recycling facilities do not accept them. In 2019, India's election commission directed parties to eliminate single-use plastic, including corflutes. AAP contributed to this story.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The astonishing election numbers Aussies don't see: 'This is a problem'
Across 7,000 polling places, the Australian Electoral Commission used 250,000 pencils, 240,000 branded vests, 80,000 ballot boxes and 5,000 rolls of tamper-proof tape. So you might be wondering what happens to all those materials now. As most of us were watching the vote counting unfold on television, staffers were busily emptying out schools, community halls, and churches. And it might bring you some joy to read that most of the items will either be reused or recycled. The AEC told Yahoo News the voting booths, tamper tape, vests and pencils are stored away for reuse in future elections, and voting booths are either recycled or donated to schools and charities. But environmental experts believe Australia could be doing better when it comes to elections. Particularly major political parties like Labor, Liberal and the Greens, who all use polypropylene corflutes and soft plastic advertising signage. RMIT Professor of Information Sciences, Lisa Given, has published a detailed plan in The Conversation about reforming Australian elections. Speaking with Yahoo News, she noted several other countries are doing a better job at running them more sustainably. 'We're lagging behind India… Its election commission has directed parties not to use single-use plastics,' she said in relation to a 2019 direction that did away with corflutes. The AEC has shifted away from using white-coloured ballot boxes to brown cardboard which is more easily recyclable. Given believes political parties should consider following its lead with their own advertising. Incredible reason bridge to Aussie holiday island is going dark Five huge climate opportunities await the next parliament Sad mystery as another huge shark washes up on beach When it comes to the materials used by the AEC, the problem isn't as simple as doing away with paper ballots and cardboard voting booths and going digital. Most people know that ChatGPT and Bitcoin use massive amounts of power, and running computers to count and tally votes would also be energy-intensive. Given would like to see the AEC introduce an energy and waste reduction strategy for elections. But she believes the problem will only be truly combatted by pressure from average Australians who want to see change. 'I haven't seen a lot of change in the types of materials used between elections. I think government needs to bring in mandates, but that will likely only occur if the population says, hey, this is a problem, we need to tackle it,' she said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
