May 8, 2026 • 6 mins
To many people, “being sustainable” seems like an active choice and sacrifice that someone has to make – but there are plenty of things they may already be doing without realising they’re sustainable.
Kate Hall joined Jack Tame to run through the list.
- Cooking at home instead of eating out
- Buying seasonal or local produce (international imports often cost more)
- Wearing clothes longer / repairing instead of replacing
- Using leftovers and stretching meals
- Buying second-hand furniture
- Travelling domestically instead of internationally (or not at all)
- Avoiding turning the AC/heat pump on & opting for doors open/more blankets instead
- Thinking about something for a long time before purchasing
- Choosing experiences as gifts over buying more stuff
- Taking the bus, walking, or biking instead of driving
- Washing clothes less often (only when they actually need it)
- Doing fuller loads instead of small, frequent washes
- Bringing a drink bottle everywhere you go instead of buying drinks out
- Making coffee at home instead of buying daily coffees (often in disposable cups)
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from news Talks That'd.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Be and our sustainability expert Kate Hall is with us
this morning. Kelder, Kay, good morning.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
What am I you have for us?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
A bit of a challenge this morning? You reckon that
many people listening right now are actually more sustainable than
we might think, and that'll come as a bit of
a surprise. I reckon some people go, I'd like to
be sustainable, but I'm not really. But actually you have
narrowed down a list and there are fourteen different things, right,
and you reckon that at least some of us are
(00:41):
going to tick off more of these than we might anticipate.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Yep, exactly. And I think it's mainly because if you're
thinking consciously about the budget, saving money, and you know,
just kind of conserving resources, then you end up being
more sustainable. So these are the sustainable things you're probably
already living, but because you're just thinking resourcefully.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yes, okay, cool, So I'm going to tick them off?
Am I in here to see how many of the
fourteen of it?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'd like to know how Yeah? How many? Yeah? Yeah?
For you?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, it's very much test. Yeah, okay, cool, so run us.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Through them, all right. So number one cooking at home
instead of eating out, so you know, kind of hanging
there as a default do.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
We have, Yeah, it's the default. But like, I mean,
how often we eating out like or getting takeaways?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
What you think Let's say you know, at least seventy
percent of your meals there?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Oh yeah, yeah, very good.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Okay. Number two buying seasonal or local produce, so you know,
not buying the oranges from the USA when they're in.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
The market, or the mangoes in the middle of winter
or whatever.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Exactly. We're in clothes longer and appearing them instead of
replacing Okay, yeah, yeah, using liftovers and stretching meals. So
some people I know, like absolutely don't don't eat leftovers
and they just throw them out. So so you're eating
your food the day after.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
It's funny how people are like that. So I get
we get my food bag for a couple of days
a week just to try and help us with Neil planning,
because we can get it. You know, there are pinch
points in the weeken out of family organization, and we
get four people even though there are only really three
adults eating and I take the leftovers for lunch the
next day, and but my wife hates them, like she's
(02:28):
just she's just not into it for whatever reason. She's like,
I know the food's nice, but I'm just I don't
for some reason, I just don't want to eat leftovers,
Which is funny I think.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Too, from people who lived off leftovers when their acids.
Yeah they had two, yeah, right, and so now they're
an adult, they're like absolutely not not doing that.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, Okay, that kind of makes sense. I suppose what's next.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Okay. Five buying second hand furniture. Six traveling domestically instead
of internationally or not at all. So that's a big
one for people were forced into that a little bit.
Number seven avoiding two earning the heat pump conditioning on
(03:08):
and opting for either doors open if it's hot or
more blankets it's cold, okay. And number eight thinking about
something for a long time before purchasing. So I've got
a rule that I think about something for at least
a month before I die. Yeah, choosing experiences is goods
over buying.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
That's definitely a bit of me. There's definitely a bit
of me.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Cool good Number ten taking the bus, walking or biking
instead of driving. Ye. That can include car pulling too,
because I know some people are rurally so there's not
those options. Washing your clothes less often and only when
they need it. There's a moment, and very share it online.
People are like, yes, I discussed yeah, and I wash
(03:56):
their clothes if they smell or are dirty, you know,
and I'm not living in dirty clothes. No, No, This
point is just you're not doing today before it goes
in the wast Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, actually assisting yeah
number twelve, doing fuller loads in the washing machine instead
of small frequent washers. Number thirteen. Bring a drink bottle
(04:20):
everywhere you go instead of buying drinks out.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Mm hmmm yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
My last one, yeap is making coffee at home instead
of buying daily coffees often indisposable cups. So it's really
good coffee's you know. Yeah, drinking coffee all the time?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Wow, of the even I'm surprised, honestly, I reckon I'm
at about teen or eleven. There are a couple of
fifty fifty ones in there, you know.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Yeah, yeah, I mean some of them are vague and
hard to quantify. That Yeah, People can use common sense
and yeah, feel really proud of the number.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, that is pretty good, and honestly because like I
often think, for example, I ride my bike all the time.
Everyone knows this, but I ride my bike all the time,
and I often think, well, that's like probably the best
I guess kind of sustainable thing I do, you know,
But then when you line it up with yeah, eight
or nine other other things in here, actually, maybe just
(05:15):
call me an eco warrior, you know, just call me.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I'll call you Jack from henceforth, I reckon there.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Might even be some fourteen's out there people who But
the key is if you're fourteen and you don't and
you don't necessarily think of yourself as being super sustainable, but.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
This is the point.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Often often being more sustainable and being more budget conscious
go hand in hand. The ven diagrams have a lot
of shared yeah space, Well.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
When we talk about different things like this, it's often
like these are the things that like how grandparents did,
or you know, these are the things that we did
when kind of resources were less abundant. Like now it's
like we can just buy cheap stuff on TIMU and
and we feel like we're entitled to be able to
drive you verwa and all that stuff. And it's like, actually,
(06:00):
when we think about resources and cost and all those things,
if we're living more frugally, we are living more sustainably
and it's not yah. You don't have to go and
buy the three hundred dollars stand we made dress, you know,
exact things and you can actually live a really sustainable,
affordable lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Oh very good, Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Kate.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
You can find Kate on social media to search ethically Kate.
Her name will pop right up and we'll put that
list of the fourteen things so you can check yourself
against it up on the News talks 'B website.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks EDB from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from news Talks That'd.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Be and our sustainability expert Kate Hall is with us
this morning. Kelder, Kay, good morning.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
What am I you have for us?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
A bit of a challenge this morning? You reckon that
many people listening right now are actually more sustainable than
we might think, and that'll come as a bit of
a surprise. I reckon some people go, I'd like to
be sustainable, but I'm not really. But actually you have
narrowed down a list and there are fourteen different things, right,
and you reckon that at least some of us are
(00:41):
going to tick off more of these than we might anticipate.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Yep, exactly. And I think it's mainly because if you're
thinking consciously about the budget, saving money, and you know,
just kind of conserving resources, then you end up being
more sustainable. So these are the sustainable things you're probably
already living, but because you're just thinking resourcefully.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yes, okay, cool, So I'm going to tick them off?
Am I in here to see how many of the
fourteen of it?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'd like to know how Yeah? How many? Yeah? Yeah?
For you?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, it's very much test. Yeah, okay, cool, so run us.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Through them, all right. So number one cooking at home
instead of eating out, so you know, kind of hanging
there as a default do.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
We have, Yeah, it's the default. But like, I mean,
how often we eating out like or getting takeaways?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
What you think Let's say you know, at least seventy
percent of your meals there?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Oh yeah, yeah, very good.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Okay. Number two buying seasonal or local produce, so you know,
not buying the oranges from the USA when they're in.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
The market, or the mangoes in the middle of winter
or whatever.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Exactly. We're in clothes longer and appearing them instead of
replacing Okay, yeah, yeah, using liftovers and stretching meals. So
some people I know, like absolutely don't don't eat leftovers
and they just throw them out. So so you're eating
your food the day after.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
It's funny how people are like that. So I get
we get my food bag for a couple of days
a week just to try and help us with Neil planning,
because we can get it. You know, there are pinch
points in the weeken out of family organization, and we
get four people even though there are only really three
adults eating and I take the leftovers for lunch the
next day, and but my wife hates them, like she's
(02:28):
just she's just not into it for whatever reason. She's like,
I know the food's nice, but I'm just I don't
for some reason, I just don't want to eat leftovers,
Which is funny I think.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Too, from people who lived off leftovers when their acids.
Yeah they had two, yeah, right, and so now they're
an adult, they're like absolutely not not doing that.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, Okay, that kind of makes sense. I suppose what's next.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Okay. Five buying second hand furniture. Six traveling domestically instead
of internationally or not at all. So that's a big
one for people were forced into that a little bit.
Number seven avoiding two earning the heat pump conditioning on
(03:08):
and opting for either doors open if it's hot or
more blankets it's cold, okay. And number eight thinking about
something for a long time before purchasing. So I've got
a rule that I think about something for at least
a month before I die. Yeah, choosing experiences is goods
over buying.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
That's definitely a bit of me. There's definitely a bit
of me.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Cool good Number ten taking the bus, walking or biking
instead of driving. Ye. That can include car pulling too,
because I know some people are rurally so there's not
those options. Washing your clothes less often and only when
they need it. There's a moment, and very share it online.
People are like, yes, I discussed yeah, and I wash
(03:56):
their clothes if they smell or are dirty, you know,
and I'm not living in dirty clothes. No, No, This
point is just you're not doing today before it goes
in the wast Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, actually assisting yeah
number twelve, doing fuller loads in the washing machine instead
of small frequent washers. Number thirteen. Bring a drink bottle
(04:20):
everywhere you go instead of buying drinks out.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Mm hmmm yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
My last one, yeap is making coffee at home instead
of buying daily coffees often indisposable cups. So it's really
good coffee's you know. Yeah, drinking coffee all the time?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Wow, of the even I'm surprised, honestly, I reckon I'm
at about teen or eleven. There are a couple of
fifty fifty ones in there, you know.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Yeah, yeah, I mean some of them are vague and
hard to quantify. That Yeah, People can use common sense
and yeah, feel really proud of the number.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, that is pretty good, and honestly because like I
often think, for example, I ride my bike all the time.
Everyone knows this, but I ride my bike all the time,
and I often think, well, that's like probably the best
I guess kind of sustainable thing I do, you know,
But then when you line it up with yeah, eight
or nine other other things in here, actually, maybe just
(05:15):
call me an eco warrior, you know, just call me.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I'll call you Jack from henceforth, I reckon there.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Might even be some fourteen's out there people who But
the key is if you're fourteen and you don't and
you don't necessarily think of yourself as being super sustainable, but.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
This is the point.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Often often being more sustainable and being more budget conscious
go hand in hand. The ven diagrams have a lot
of shared yeah space, Well.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
When we talk about different things like this, it's often
like these are the things that like how grandparents did,
or you know, these are the things that we did
when kind of resources were less abundant. Like now it's
like we can just buy cheap stuff on TIMU and
and we feel like we're entitled to be able to
drive you verwa and all that stuff. And it's like, actually,
(06:00):
when we think about resources and cost and all those things,
if we're living more frugally, we are living more sustainably
and it's not yah. You don't have to go and
buy the three hundred dollars stand we made dress, you know,
exact things and you can actually live a really sustainable,
affordable lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Oh very good, Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Kate.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
You can find Kate on social media to search ethically Kate.
Her name will pop right up and we'll put that
list of the fourteen things so you can check yourself
against it up on the News talks 'B website.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks EDB from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.