Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Tipping Floor | 20231127 | 20231128 (R4) | Oliver Franklin Wallis has not written a book about rubbish, but about the far bigger concerns around how much waste humans are producing and what we do with it. Unexpected twists in the journey find a strange beauty in the movement of a recycling plant and the surprising legacy of our waste. Among the trash, there is treasure and hope for a better way of processing our waste and a better future. Written by Oliver Franklin-Wallis Round and round the recycling goes, where does it end up? Nobody knows. Oliver Franklin Wallis begins a deep dive into the murky world of waste. Read by Russ Bain. |
| 02 | Used | 20231128 | 20231129 (R4) | Fast fashion' is everywhere. From shops to charity shops to landfills thousands of miles from where they started, the unintended damage of well-intentioned donations is literally flooding parts of Ghana. Oliver Franklin-Wallis traces the journey of a humble T-shirt and meets the stylish Ghanian innovators trying to change how the system works and look great while doing it. How fast fashion flooded the world and the innovators trying to change it. As fast fashion takes over clothing sales, what happens to the well-intentioned donations to charity shops? Written by Oliver Franklin-Wallis. Read by Russ Bain. |
| 03 | Unholy Water | 20231129 | 20231130 (R4) | Tanning is an ancient art honed over centuries. It traditionally uses vegetable dye to soften and colour hides. However, a quicker, modern approach uses chromium salts to create the same effect, but the fallout from the process is contributing to the poisoning of one of the most sacred rivers in the world and the people who live and work around it. Oliver Franklin-Wallis discovers the true cost of cheap leather goods. In the waters of the Ganges lies the true cost of producing cheap leather goods. The Ganges is one of the most sacred rivers in the world and yet is also one of the most polluted. Oliver Franklin-Wallis discovers the true cost of cheap leather goods. |
| 04 | Control, Delete | 20231130 | 20231201 (R4) | Our desire for the latest gadgets contributes to the growing problem of WEEE...Waste Electronics and Electronic Equipment. However, thanks to some crafty lightbulb makers, 'planned obsolescense' that drives the need for the new has simply become part of modern life. How can we tackle the ever growing mountain of abandoned 'stuff'? Written by Oliver Franklin-Wallis What can we do with all those old phones we hold on to 'just in case'... Is our hunger for the latest trends driving the upsurge in electronic waste, or is the need for new things all part of a design? Written by Oliver Franklin-Wallis. |
| 05 | Precious | 20231201 | 20231202 (R4) | It all seems rather hopeless, but Oliver Franklin-Wallis has some ideas about how we can realistically tackle the waste crisis. Looking at the very real physical legacy we are leaving behind, he finds reasons to be hopeful. Written by Oliver Franklin-Wallis What can we really do about our waste crisis and the legacy it leaves? Oliver Franklin-Wallis lays out answers to the waste crisis and the legacy of waste we are leaving behind on the earth itself. |