October 31, 2025

Submission to NSW Select Committee on Proposed Energy from Waste Facilities The creation of energy from waste facilities is not an effective ‘solution’ to managing residual waste. Rather than risking the health and environment of regional...

by Jack Thrower and Rod Campbell

December 6, 2024

Polling – Christmas waste 2024 Giving and receiving gifts is one of the most cherished Christmas traditions. The polling conducted for this report shows that more than three in four Australians (77%)...

by Nina Gbor and Alexia Adhikari

May 29, 2024

Textiles waste in Australia Reducing consumption and investing in circularity

by Nina Gbor and Olivia Chollet

January 12, 2024

Plastic waste in Australia And the recycling greenwash

by Lilia Anderson and Nina Gbor

November 30, 2023

Christmas Waste 2023 Gift giving is a long-standing Christmas tradition. Yet Australia Institute research shows that approximately 6.1 million adult Australians, expect to receive Christmas...

by Nina Gbor and Benjamin Walters

September 18, 2023

Food Waste in Australia And how supermarkets profit from it

by Lilia Anderson, Matt Grudnoff, Tom Hawking and Rod Campbell

April 23, 2023

Community Attitudes to Home and Car Electrification The transition towards a low-carbon future is a pressing issue, and household electrification has emerged as a critical component of Australia’s ongoing shift in energy use....

The Australia Institute

December 22, 2019

Polling: Christmas presents and waste New research from The Australia Institute has revealed that nearly one third of Australians (30%) are expecting to receive a gift that they will never use this Christmas....

The Australia Institute

July 11, 2019

Canberra: Laboratory of democracy Most Australians want 100% renewable energy, a stamp duty to land tax swap and pill testing at music festivals in their own state, new national polling from The Australia...

by Bill Browne

December 20, 2017

Polling – Presents, Wasteful Consumption and Repairs Key Results The Australia Institute surveyed 1,417 Australians about presents, waste and repairs. Gifts Three quarters of respondents (75%) like to buy Christmas...

by Tom Swann

August 1, 2013

Catalyst CSR Dashboard: Environment Snapshot

The Australia Institute

April 14, 2011

Survey results – New Zealand food waste

The Australia Institute

December 14, 2010

Australians planning to waste hundreds of millions this Christmas

The Australia Institute

November 5, 2009

What a waste: An analysis of household expenditure on food Australian households are throwing out more than $5 billion worth of food each year, more than Australians spend on digital equipment, and more than it costs to run the...

by David Baker, Josh Fear and Richard Denniss

November 4, 2009

Submission to the Do Not Call Register Statutory Review In its submission to the Do Not Call Register Statutory Review, The Australia Institute argues that the current system of regulating unwanted telemarketing calls needs to be...

by Josh Fear

May 6, 2009

Future Economic Thought- discussion paper The goal of sustainability has been a dangerous and destructive distraction for both citizens and policy makers concerned with the development of a society that protects...

by Richard Denniss and Richard Sanders

January 23, 2008

Stuff Happens: Unused things cluttering up our homes

by Josh Fear

February 16, 2007

Mobile phones and the consumer kids A quarter of children ages 6-14 own phones, 1/3 of them pay for this phone with their own money. Children often buy phones for aesthetic reasons not for safety. Corporations...

by Christian Downie and Kate Glazebrook

February 1, 2006

Skip Dipping in Australia

by Emma Rush

December 1, 2005

Unwanted Christmas Presents: Getting the Most out of Christmas Over half of all Australians will not use, or give away Christmas presents. 21% of Australians will give a present to someone they don’t like. Because of this the piece...

by Emma Rush and Andrew Macintosh

September 1, 2005

Who Drives 4WDs?

by Clive Hamilton and Claire Barbato

July 1, 2005

Why Australians Will Never Be Prosperous While many Australians are prosperous, few feel prosperous. Only 1 in 5 millionaires consider themselves prosperous¸ and only 1.6 of the entire Australian population. This...

by Clive Hamilton and Claire Barbato

March 1, 2005

Wasteful Consumption in Australia This report estimates that Australians spend more than $10.5 billion each year on goods and services from which they derive no benefit. The paper examines the phenomenon of...

by Clive Hamilton, Richard Denniss and David Baker

January 1, 2005

Speech at the launch of In search of sustainability ed. by J Goldie, B Douglas and B Furnass

by Clive Hamilton

May 1, 2004

Carpe Diem? The Deferred Happiness Syndrome Deferred Happiness Syndrome affects 30% of Australians and occurs when employees are not satisfied with work but do it to achieve happiness later on, often through money and...

by Clive Hamilton

February 1, 2004

Getting a Life: Understanding the downshifting phenomenon in Australia Explores in detail the life changes and attitudes of 20 downshifters to answer the questions prompted by the first study on downshifting completed in January 2003. The...

by Christie Breakspear and Clive Hamilton

February 1, 2004

Consumer capitalism: Is this as good as it gets? The 15th Maurice Blackburn Oration

by Clive Hamilton

November 1, 2003

Downshifting in Britain: A sea-change in the pursuit of happiness This study parallels Discussion Paper 50 and shows that 25 per cent of British adults aged between 30 and 59 have downshifted over the last ten years....

by Clive Hamilton

September 1, 2003

Overconsumption in Britain: A culture of middle-class complaint? A companion study to Discussion Paper 49 with remarkably similar findings. In one of the world's richest countries, the United Kingdom, a high proportion of citizens feel...

by Clive Hamilton

May 1, 2003

Can Porn Set Us Free?: A speech to the Sydney Writers Festival, May 25th 2003

by Clive Hamilton

The Australia Institute

Research // Consumerism & Waste

Latest Resources

Submission to NSW Select Committee on Proposed Energy from Waste Facilities The creation of energy from waste facilities is not an effective ‘solution’ to managing residual waste. Rather than risking the health and environment of regional...

Polling – Christmas waste 2024 Giving and receiving gifts is one of the most cherished Christmas traditions. The polling conducted for this report shows that more than three in four Australians (77%)...

Textiles waste in Australia Reducing consumption and investing in circularity

Plastic waste in Australia And the recycling greenwash

Christmas Waste 2023 Gift giving is a long-standing Christmas tradition. Yet Australia Institute research shows that approximately 6.1 million adult Australians, expect to receive Christmas...

Food Waste in Australia And how supermarkets profit from it

Community Attitudes to Home and Car Electrification The transition towards a low-carbon future is a pressing issue, and household electrification has emerged as a critical component of Australia’s ongoing shift in energy use....

Polling: Christmas presents and waste New research from The Australia Institute has revealed that nearly one third of Australians (30%) are expecting to receive a gift that they will never use this Christmas....

Canberra: Laboratory of democracy Most Australians want 100% renewable energy, a stamp duty to land tax swap and pill testing at music festivals in their own state, new national polling from The Australia...

Polling – Presents, Wasteful Consumption and Repairs Key Results The Australia Institute surveyed 1,417 Australians about presents, waste and repairs. Gifts Three quarters of respondents (75%) like to buy Christmas...

Catalyst CSR Dashboard: Environment Snapshot

Survey results – New Zealand food waste

Australians planning to waste hundreds of millions this Christmas

What a waste: An analysis of household expenditure on food Australian households are throwing out more than $5 billion worth of food each year, more than Australians spend on digital equipment, and more than it costs to run the...

Submission to the Do Not Call Register Statutory Review In its submission to the Do Not Call Register Statutory Review, The Australia Institute argues that the current system of regulating unwanted telemarketing calls needs to be...

Future Economic Thought- discussion paper The goal of sustainability has been a dangerous and destructive distraction for both citizens and policy makers concerned with the development of a society that protects...

Stuff Happens: Unused things cluttering up our homes

Mobile phones and the consumer kids A quarter of children ages 6-14 own phones, 1/3 of them pay for this phone with their own money. Children often buy phones for aesthetic reasons not for safety. Corporations...

Skip Dipping in Australia

Unwanted Christmas Presents: Getting the Most out of Christmas Over half of all Australians will not use, or give away Christmas presents. 21% of Australians will give a present to someone they don’t like. Because of this the piece...

Who Drives 4WDs?

Why Australians Will Never Be Prosperous While many Australians are prosperous, few feel prosperous. Only 1 in 5 millionaires consider themselves prosperous¸ and only 1.6 of the entire Australian population. This...

Wasteful Consumption in Australia This report estimates that Australians spend more than $10.5 billion each year on goods and services from which they derive no benefit. The paper examines the phenomenon of...

Speech at the launch of In search of sustainability ed. by J Goldie, B Douglas and B Furnass

Carpe Diem? The Deferred Happiness Syndrome Deferred Happiness Syndrome affects 30% of Australians and occurs when employees are not satisfied with work but do it to achieve happiness later on, often through money and...

Getting a Life: Understanding the downshifting phenomenon in Australia Explores in detail the life changes and attitudes of 20 downshifters to answer the questions prompted by the first study on downshifting completed in January 2003. The...

Consumer capitalism: Is this as good as it gets? The 15th Maurice Blackburn Oration

Downshifting in Britain: A sea-change in the pursuit of happiness This study parallels Discussion Paper 50 and shows that 25 per cent of British adults aged between 30 and 59 have downshifted over the last ten years....

Overconsumption in Britain: A culture of middle-class complaint? A companion study to Discussion Paper 49 with remarkably similar findings. In one of the world's richest countries, the United Kingdom, a high proportion of citizens feel...

Can Porn Set Us Free?: A speech to the Sydney Writers Festival, May 25th 2003

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