Australian Bureau of Statistics
Celebrating the International Year of Statistics 2013

HOUSEHOLD RECYCLING

The recycling activities of households grew extensively between 1996 and 2009. In 1996, 91% of Australian households said they practised some form of waste recycling and/or reuse activity. In 2009, almost all Australian households (98%) reported that they recycled waste and 86% reported that they reused waste. Items commonly reused or recycled by households included paper, cardboard or newspapers (95%), plastic bottles (94%), glass (93%) and plastic bags (90%).

Recycling activities in Australia are facilitated by municipal kerbside recycling services. In 2009, over 91% of Australian households used municipal kerbside recycling to recycle waste, an increase from 87% in 2006.

While these statistics tell us the number of households that have recycled at least one item during the previous 12 months, they do not indicate how much household waste is recycled. A more informative measure would also take into account the volume of household waste that is recycled (per household) of all household waste.