How dare you place 50g of food waste in your general bin?

Amid the cost-of-living crisis, war in Ukraine and reports of the 2 Johnnies selling out 3Arena, it can be hard to feel hopeful about the future of humankind. The national broadcaster is trying to do its bit to restore our optimism with What Planet Are You On? (RTÉ One, Tuesday, 7pm), in which three families aim to make meaningful lifestyle changes that will reduce their carbon footprint.

With Maia Dunphy as host, we are introduced to the McGettigans from Carrigart, in Co Donegal, the Kellys from Stradbally, in Co Laois, and the Ryans from Portarlington, again in Laois. They are each tasked with helping the environment a little by disposing of their waste more carefully and by incorporating plant-based foods into their diets.

Aptly, given the subject matter, the format is recycled from many previous RTÉ challenge shows featuring ‘average’ Irish households

Aptly, given the subject matter, the format is recycled from many previous RTÉ challenge shows featuring “average” Irish households. We meet the families, who pledge to become more ecologically responsible. The results are assessed, and the participants receive expert feedback in a studio at a recycling centre in Dublin.

This is well-intentioned TV. Yet it has overtones of the bad old days of Irish people being made to feel guilty for their behaviour. The participants are “monitored” for a week, with experts going through their rubbish. Then they are hauled up to Dublin — why not do it over Zoom and so cut down on emissions? — and held to account for their failures. Even the title of the series, which continues on Wednesday and Thursday, has a slightly accusatory tone.

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RTÉ has, in essence, invited us into a giant confession box. Fingers are figuratively wagged and heads tilted forwards in faux-chagrin. (It is clear that nobody actually feels all that bad about missing their targets.) One family receives a black mark for putting a used light bulb in the wrong bin. They receive an additional dressing down for chucking leftovers in the incorrect container. “Food waste is the big issue here. There were about 50 grams in your general waste bin. That is just a disaster for the environment,” says one expert. “A disaster, that’s the only word.”

Perhaps we simply like to watch our friends and neighbours squirm, but What Planet Are You On? would surely benefit from a gentler, less confrontational approach

Left unspoken is the point of view that these issues are systemic and that responsibility for reducing pollution lies overwhelmingly with corporations rather than individual consumers (who have enough to worry about this winter as it is).

Even were that not the case, it’s hard not to feel that chiding families for not fulfilling a “pledge” echoes an Ireland we should have left behind. That was also an issue with early seasons of the fitness makeover series Operation Transformation. Perhaps we simply like to watch our friends and neighbours squirm. Whatever the reason, What Planet Are You On? would surely benefit from a gentler, less confrontational approach.