How much plastic actually gets recycled Australia?
However, the vast majority of recycling collected by Australian councils is still getting recycled. Data shows 84 - 96% of kerbside recycling is recycled, and the remaining 4 - 16% that goes to landfill is primarily a result of the wrong thing going in the wrong bin.
Australia produces 74 million tonnes of waste per year and we only recycle 60%. So we've got a lot to work with. All levels of governments and industry are working together to manage our waste, convert it to resources, and protect our environment. Our waste is our responsibility.
Facts about plastics
One million tonnes of Australia's annual plastic consumption is single-use plastic 84% of plastic is sent to landfill and only 13% is recycled. Every year in Australia approximately 130,000 tonnes of plastic leaks into the marine environment.
However, less than 10% of plastic waste generated globally has been recycled so far. A somewhat larger portion (12%) has been incinerated and the rest has simply ended up in landfills and our oceans.
Construction and demolition waste is the largest source of waste in Australia. Construction creates 16.8% of total waste annually. The construction industry produces the second largest amount of waste by industry behind manufacturing. Construction creates 87 tonnes of waste per million dollars added to the economy.
More action needed
"In the past three years, Australia has seen significant investment from government and industry to improve our recycling infrastructure and technologies and increase Australia's recycling capacity.
While Australia was found to be performing above the global average, it ranked poorly for efficient collection and sorting of plastic (16th place), plastic waste management (14th place) and private sector commitments (10th place).
Kerbside recycling.
This involves contractors or council collectors taking your recyclable plastics to MRFs(Material Recovery Facilities), where it's sorted, compacted and baled for sale.
The EPA estimates that 75% of the American waste stream is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% of it. We generate 21.5 million tons of food waste each year.
Top recycling statistics of 2022
Of the 40 million tons of plastic waste generated in the U.S. in 2021, only 5% to 6% — or about two million tons — was recycled. 2.
What percentage of waste is plastic in Australia?
| 2016-17 (%) | 2018-19 (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Plastics | 12.6 | 18.9 |
| Glass | 51.3 | 58.2 |
| Textiles, leather & rubber (b) | 25.8 | 26.1 |
| Hazardous waste (b) | 29.0 | 26.6 |
Of the estimated 67 million tonnes of waste Australians generated in 2017, just 37 was recycled, leaving 21.7 disposed of in landfill. It's estimated about 130,000 tonnes of Australian plastic ends up in our waterways and oceans each year. What can YOU do?
The proportion of plastics that are recycled is minimal. The UK, for example, uses five million tons of plastic each year, and only 370,000 tons are recycled each year: that's just 7%. But all polymers are, technologically, 100% recyclable.
Germany has the highest recycling rate in the world. The nation recycles an impressive 66.1% of its waste.
THE ANSWER. No, 79% of your recycling does not end up in a landfill. This highest estimate for how much recycling ends up in the trash was a third.
In just five years' time, landfills in Melbourne's southeast will run out of space. With millions of people living in the region, finding an alternative way to deal with waste is crucial. MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug.
This statistic shows the total volume of exported waste for recycling from Australia to China from financial year 2009 to 2018. In financial year 2018, approximately 748 thousand metric tons of waste were exported from Australia to China for recycling.
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.
Because it's cheaper to process the plastic in China than in Australia. About half the world's recycling has been going to China, with massive volumes coming from Western countries like the US, UK and Australia.
What is e-waste and why is this waste stream growing so fast? E-waste refers to any end-of-life electronic and tech products and would commonly include products such as laptops, screens, mobile phones, tablets, TV screens and printers.
Which country recycles more than 70%?
Germany. Germany is leading the way in waste management and recycling. With the introduction of their recycling scheme the country has been able to reduce their total waste by 1 million tons every year. Germany recycles 70% of all waste produced, this is the most in the world.
For example, Germany is the country that has the highest recycling rate in the world. Even though there are different ways to calculate the total recycling rate, Germany appears to recycle about 56 percent of all of the waste it produces.
Since then Southeast Asia has become the new destination for Australia's recycled plastics, with 80-87% going to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Other countries have also begun to accept Australia's plastics, including the Philippines and Myanmar.
The more we recycle, the less garbage winds up in our landfills and incineration plants. By reusing aluminum, paper, glass, plastics, and other materials, we can save production and energy costs, and reduce the negative impacts that the extraction and processing of virgin materials has on the environment.
Most hard plastics coded 1 to 7 can be recycled in your yellow-lidded recycling bin, however expanded polystyrene foam, number 6, and plastic bags, which are usually number 2 or 4, cannot be recycled through kerbside recycling bins.