While debate this week has focused on the environmental impact about bags and where they may or may not end up, it may actually be time to again ask broader questions about our throw-away society in general.

In many homes, those “one-use” plastic shopping bags are gold. They serve as bin liners, cat litter tray liners and mucky-shoe holders, and I suspect that’s the case for a great many houses.

But in a society that is increasingly throw-away, you have to ask what the environmental impacts are and whether we are doing enough to protect not only the environment., but the finite resources of the planet.

Take a trip through the major chains stores and you'll see a massive emphasis on lower prices.

Once where there seemed to be an acceptance of “paying for quality”, the emphasis now seems to be on “pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap”.

Clothing is the obvious example. How many ads have you seen on TV which emphasise the low – and falling cost – of items? Yes, you can buy a kid’s T-shirt for a couple of dollars, but the trade off is that it is likely to be made of a thinner material, stitched together with an emphasis on speed over skill and designed to last only a few months.

A few turns through the washing machine and it’s probably already coming to the end of it’s useful life.

So what does a time-poor family do with a T-shirt that’s coming apart at the seams after a few wears? Repair it or bin it and buy another one? Increasingly, the answer is to buy another one. And it’s not just T-shirts.

The falling cost of appliances and furnishings as chain stores produce their own brands to compete with major-label manufacturers has it’s trade off in the quality. A $30 kettle dies after a year? Bin it and buy another one.

No longer do we consider appliances and furniture as long-term investments. If your $650 washing machine suffers a major meltdown, do you pay the $300 repair bill or pay out a bit extra and buy a new one?

It is unlikely that the new disposable society is going to change any time soon, so we have to ask how we can make sure we’re getting the other end of the process right.

What can we do with that old T-shirt, broken kettle or unfashionable sofa to make sure we’re recycling.

It’s easy to get caught up in gesture politics when it comes to the environment, but the bottom line is that we should all be treading as lightly on the earth as we can. In an era when governments are big on flashing their environmental credentials, we should be asking them to do more, but more than just throwing money at any organisation with "enviro” in its title.

Australia has a long, proud history of research and innovation. So let’s make sure the people who are actually looking at creating solutions are being funded properly.

I don’t care if it’s scientists trying to make good on a way of turning bacteria into batteries or creating a better process for improving the way my DOA washing machine can be broken down and reused – I just want to see practical, simple solutions to reduce, recycle and reuse.

 Australia has a well-deserved reputation for innovation and research.

JODY LINDBECK

jody.lindbeck@fairfaxmedia.com.au