Recycling, landfill, incineration and the truths behind the system.
We'll explore your burning questions:
Does recycling really end up in landfill?
What actually happens after the recycling truck leaves your street?
How does a modern landfill work?
Why does contamination cause such big problems?
What happens when recycling cannot be processed?
Is incineration really the answer to our waste problem?
And are we focusing too much on the bin, when the bigger issue starts much earlier?
“Recycling just goes to landfill.” “It’s all a scam.” “We should just burn it all.”
We hear it all the time.
And to be fair, the waste system is complicated, messy and often poorly explained. So it is no surprise that rumours, half-truths and very confident opinions have filled the gaps. The Ugly Truth takes a deeper look at what actually happens to our rubbish and recycling once it leaves the kerb.
Kate will take you behind the scenes of the systems most people never get to see, looking at how modern landfills work, what happens at recycling facilities, why contamination matters, where materials really go and whether technologies like incineration are as simple as they are sometimes made out to be.
This is not a session about pretending the waste system is perfect. It is about understanding it properly. We look at the good, the bad and the uncomfortable truths in between, so you can separate fact from fiction and make up your own mind with better information. This session is ideal for anyone who wants to go beyond the basics and better understand the systems, infrastructure and decisions sitting behind the waste conversation.
There will be plenty of myths to unpack, plenty of uncomfortable realities to discuss and probably a few moments where you realise the story is more complicated than you thought. If you think you already know what happens to your rubbish, come along and test that theory. You might be right. But you might also be surprised.