Most used materials – waste generation vs recycling In 2020-21, the three largest sources of waste were building and demolition (25.2 mega tonnes), organics (14.4 mega tonnes), and ash from C&I electricity generation (12 mega tonnes).
Waste and hazardous waste
There are 5 solid waste classes: special, hazardous, restricted solid, general solid (putrescible), general solid (non-putrescible). Within these there are various sub-classes: Special: 3 classes (clinical and related wastes, asbestos wastes, waste tyres) Hazardous wastes: 6 classes.
Australia has a plastics problem. Australia now produces 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, equating to 100 kg per person. Of this, only 13% of plastic is recovered and 84% is sent to landfill. More concerningly, around 130,000 tonnes of the plastic we consume leaks into the marine environment each year.
Liquid waste can be divided into three main streams: sewerage, trade waste and hazardous liquid waste.
Amid all the bad news stories we hear in the media, you would be forgiven for believing all our waste, including what goes in the recycling bin, goes straight to landfill. But the latest waste report shows 63% of Australia's waste is recovered and used again.
In 2020-21, Australia generated 75.8 mega tonnes (Mt) of total waste, including 14 Mt from households and local government, 32.8 Mt from the commercial and industrial sector and 29 Mt from construction and demolition. 75.8 Mt of waste is roughly the equivalent weight of 471 Sydney Opera Houses.
One of the most common reasons is that Australian households cook too much food and do not know how to use leftovers. We also throw food out by mistake before the use-by date, or forget about food in the fridge until they have expired.
As a result, the amount of e-waste generated by discarding obsolete electronics is the world's fastest–growing waste stream.
Australia's 1168 operational (licensed and unlicensed) landfills receive around 20 million tonnes of waste each year.
Food is the most common form of waste, accounting for almost 50 percent of global MSW. Millions of tons of food is wasted every year, especially fruit and vegetables. Much like other waste forms, the United States is a major producer of food waste, generating almost 100 million metric tons of food waste every year.
reducing the total waste generated in Australia by 10% per person by 2030. achieving an 80% average recovery rate from all waste streams by 2030. significantly increasing the use of recycled content by governments and industry. phasing out problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025.
The facts. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in Australia. Approximately seven billion of the 24 billion filtered cigarettes sold every year in Australia are littered.
New research by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (FFW CRC) shows beef, bread, cheese, and salad are the most thrown out foods in Australian kitchens.
The report found that Australia's recycling rate remains stagnant at 60%. The report also shows that: In 2020/21, Australia generated an estimated 75.8 million tonnes (Mt) of waste, equivalent to 2.95 tonnes per person.
Food waste produced annually in selected countries worldwide 2020. China and India produce more household food waste than any other country worldwide at an estimated 92 million and 69 million metric tons every year, respectively.
Research from the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences finds that 18- to 24-year-olds, especially college students, have a higher tendency to waste food.
The landfill is the most popular destination for solid waste, by a wide margin. Some cities, like San Francisco and Seattle, are able to recycle more than they send to landfills, but the majority of the U.S. sends their trash to the dump.
Tons of waste dumped on the planet
Every year we dump a massive 2.12 billion tons of waste on the planet. If all this waste was put on trucks they would go around the world 24 times.
Facts about plastics
Every year in Australia approximately 130,000 tonnes of plastic leaks into the marine environment.
The EPA says that Sydney is running out of landfill space. No space for non-putrescible waste by 2028 (that's in six years). And no space for putrescible waste by 2036.
In Australia, we recycle 55% of all the waste collected from households, businesses and construction and demolition. There are around 100 Material Recovery Facilities operating in Australia which separate out the different materials for recycling.