<
https://theconversation.com/a-rubbish-election-voting-in-australia-produces-mountains-of-waste-but-theres-a-better-way-255780>
"More than 18 million Australians voted on Saturday, after walking past
countless corflutes, reading campaign flyers and reviewing how-to-vote cards.
The 2025 federal election was Australia’s biggest yet, with 710,000 more people
on the electoral roll than in 2022. The Australian Election Commission amassed
250,000 pencils, 240,000 vests, 80,000 ballot boxes and 5,000 rolls of
tamper-proof tape to stock some 7,000 polling places.
So, what happens to these materials after polling day? Some are warehoused,
ready for reuse next time around. Others are repurposed. But every election
also generates a mountain of waste for landfill.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Australia needs to mandate a cradle-to-grave
approach to creating, using, recycling and disposing of election materials.
Meanwhile, electronic machines and online voting can reduce the need for paper
ballots, just as social media campaigns can reduce paper mail drops."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
