Pip Kiernan: It's time to begin fixing what's broken before it becomes waste
That is my aspiration too. It's certainly possible but first we need to change our mindset to encourage more Australians to adjust their spending and shopping habits — from 'take, make, waste' to re-use and repair.
This isn't just about the environment, it's about fairness. It's about extending the life of our products, saving money, and reducing pressure on households during a cost-of-living crunch. We need to guide, inspire and empower our communities to make more sustainable choices.
Our approach to materials and products in the Western world is so destructive. It's a linear approach, where materials are extracted from the earth, made into products, and eventually thrown away.
In many respects we're devouring the future. In Australia, CSIRO reports that our circularity rate is sitting at 4 per cent, which is half the global average. That means that only 4 per cent of what we consume is not a virgin resource. We are also the world's biggest consumer of textiles per capita.
Repairability is a key solution to reducing waste, but one that Australia continues to fall behind on. It ensures products can remain in use for as long as possible, keeping them out of landfill.
Repair is an obvious 'first responder' when it comes to waste prevention and having control over the products we buy and use, from computers, kettles and toasters to furniture, clothing and agricultural equipment.
France is leading the way on repairability reform. In 2021 they introduced the Repairability Index to foster sustainable consumption, by making it easier for consumers to repair electronic devices rather than replace them.
Products are scored from 0 to 10 based on how easy they are to repair. That's an effective way to promote and encourage repairability, as well as drive brands to redesign their products for a longer life.
Wales is another superb example of a country which is excelling in circular economy achievement, thanks to simultaneous top-down and bottom-up action. Repair cafes have taken off in Welsh communities, and the Welsh Benthyg Cymru (libraries of things) areprevalent around the country.
In the same year that France introduced the index, the Australian Productivity Commission released a report on the right to repair, identifying significant barriers to repair and recommending comprehensive reforms to enhance consumer choice, reduce e-waste, and promote competition in repair markets. Four years on and not one of the recommendations from the report have come to fruition.
Clean Up Australia strongly advocates for the right to repair products and equipment, including access to parts, manuals, tools, software and extended warranties. It's part of living an independent and sustainable life — being able to mend, fix and extend the life of products we have.
The Australian Repair Network has done a great job setting up an interactive map of community initiatives and repair cafes in Australia. But we still have a long way to go in this country.
If we are to successfully transition to a more circular and sustainable future, with regulated waste, moving markets for recycled materials, and a flourishing culture of repair and reuse, an entire consciousness shift is needed. I am mindful that even the terminology 'circular economy' may still not be known to the general public.
On our 35th anniversary I'd like to see increased community awareness to reduce wasteful consumerism and reliance on single-use, enhanced product design standards for longevity and repair, and continued investment in waste management infrastructure.
To achieve this, collaboration across all levels of government, industry, brands, business, and the everyday Australian is required.
It is encouraging that late last year, the Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the Albanese Government's commitment to developing a general right to repair. With our Federal Government sworn in and back to work, we're hoping to see that commitment enshrined in policy in the term to come.
Australia can lead the way to develop new patterns of consumption that meet consumer expectations and reduce environmental impacts, while being affordable to the public and creating new business opportunities for brands and retailers.
This year, more than 800,000 volunteers across the country pulled on their gloves and got to work removing litter from our precious environment. Our volunteers already put in the hard yards, but Clean Ups alone cannot solve the mess we're in. It's time to begin fixing what's broken, before it becomes waste.
Pip Kiernan is the chairwoman of Clean Up Australia
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Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. 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Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. 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"The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. 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