40 Garbage Waste Statistics in Australia

It’s estimated that each Australian produces 1.2 tonnes of rubbish per year. That’s a lot of garbage! In fact, it’s enough to fill up Sydney’s Olympic Stadium more than 2 times!

Local Sydney rubbish removal experts, Paul’s Rubbish Removal have put together 40 rubbish waste statistics in Australia that will blow your mind:

1. Brisbane residents create the most rubbish per capita, at 2 kg per day.
2. The average Aussie throws out 540 kilograms of rubbish every year.
3. We produce over 34 million tonnes of rubbish annually – that’s the weight of around 5,000 747 jumbo jets!
4. Only 30% of our rubbish is recycled – which is far below the global average of 44%.
5. The most recycled item in Australia is paper, with over 70% of Aussies recycling it.
6. Glass accounts for the second-highest percentage of rubbish that’s recycled, at around 60%.
7. Melbourne creates the most rubbish per capita, at 2.5 kg per day.
8. Sydney produces the most garbage overall, at nearly 10 million tonnes a year.
9. Adelaide creates the least rubbish per capita, at only 0.8 kg per day.
10. Recycling one tonne of paper can save 17 trees, 3 cubic metres of landfill space and 4,000 kilowatts of energy!
11. Recycling one tonne of plastic can save 3,000 kilograms of CO2 emissions.
12. It takes 500 years for a plastic bottle to decompose in a landfill.
13. We produce 2.5 million tonnes of rubbish every day – that’s the same weight as 10,000 elephants!
14. Every year, we send over 4 million tonnes of rubbish to be burned in incinerators – that’s the equivalent of burning 100 Sydney Opera Houses!
15. A whopping 90% of our rubbish is sent to landfills or incinerated.
16. In NSW, it costs taxpayers $300 million each year to dump rubbish in landfills.
17. The average Australian family throws out around $1,500 worth of food every year.
18. We generate over 2 million tonnes of food waste every year.
19. The average household throws out around $4,000 worth of rubbish each year.
20. It takes around 200 years for a banana peel to decompose in a landfill.
21. In Queensland, it costs taxpayers $1 billion each year to dump rubbish in landfills.
22. One-third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted – that’s 1.3 billion tonnes of food!
23. If we reduced global food waste by just 25%, we could provide enough food for the world’s hungry people.
24. We produce more than 3 million tonnes of electronic waste each year.
25. That’s the weight of around 400,000 cars!
26. It takes around 1.5 million years for a computer to decompose in landfill.
27. The average person discards around 185 kg of clothing each year.
28. That’s the weight of an adult hippo!
29. The average Aussie throws out 2 million cups and 2 million plates each year.
30. We use around 5 billion disposable cups every year.
31. Disposable cups can take up to 500 years to decompose in landfill.
32. It costs taxpayers $500 million each year to dump rubbish from households in landfill.
33. In Victoria, it costs taxpayers $1 billion each year to dump rubbish from households in landfill.
34. We generate around 3 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste each year.
35. That’s the weight of around 200,000 cars!
36. The average Australian generates 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide from rubbish each year.
37. That’s the equivalent of driving a car for 9,000 miles!
38. If we recycled all our rubbish, it would save enough energy to power over 2 million homes.
39. It would also save the equivalent of 1 million hectares of forest – that’s the size of Tasmania!
40. By 2020, it’s estimated that global rubbish will weigh more than 17 billion tonnes!

We need to start taking rubbish seriously – it’s not only harmful to the environment, but it’s also costing taxpayers billions of dollars each year. If we want to make a real difference, we need to start recycling more and creating less rubbish in the first place. Come on Australia, how it’s done and work together to make a rubbish-free future!

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