Circular economy
Protect, repair and manage the environment
Released 15/09/2025
Metrics
- Circularity rate
- Material footprint per capita
- Material productivity
- Waste generation per person
- Proportion of waste recovered for reuse, recycling or energy
Why this matters
Australians are aware of the impact of using resources and are strongly invested in participating in a more sustainable, circular economy where materials are used more efficiently and are recycled, reused and repaired.
Progress
Circularity rate
In 2024, the circularity rate was around 4.3%, the same as it was in 2023, and up from 3.7% in 2010. Australia's circularity rate remains lower than the global circularity rate (6.9%) according to the Circularity Gap Report 2025.
Australia’s Circular Economy Framework, 2024 sets a goal to double the circularity rate by 2035.
- The circularity rate measures the proportion of secondary materials used in the economy over a single year. See UNECE’s Guidelines for Measuring Circular Economy. Part A: Conceptual Framework, Indicators and Measurement Framework.
Data provided by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, informed by Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation research.
Material footprint per capita
In 2024, Australia's material footprint per capita was around 31.1 tonnes, the lowest it has been since 2010 (37.6 tonnes).
Australia’s Circular Economy Framework, 2024 sets a target to shrink per capita material footprint by 10% by 2035.
- Material footprint measures the amount of materials required for final demand (household consumption, government consumption and capital investment) in Australia independently of whether the materials are extracted or harvested in Australia or sourced from abroad. See UNECE’s Guidelines for Measuring Circular Economy. Part A: Conceptual Framework, Indicators and Measurement Framework.
Data provided by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, informed by Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation research.
Material productivity
In 2024, Australia's material productivity on a domestic material consumption basis was around $2.04 AUD/kg, up from $1.86 AUD/kg in 2010. This means there was $2.04 of GDP for each kilogram of material consumed by the economy.
Australia’s Circular Economy Framework, 2024 sets a target to lift material productivity by 30% by 2035.
- Material productivity has been presented on a domestic material consumption basis. Material productivity measures the efficiency with which raw materials (such as metals, minerals, and biomass) are used in production processes. Higher material productivity indicates that the economy is generating more output with less material input, reducing material waste and environmental impact. See UNECE’s Guidelines for Measuring Circular Economy. Part A: Conceptual Framework, Indicators and Measurement Framework.
- Material productivity was calculated using Gross Domestic Product chain volume measures with a reference year of 2022-23.
Data provided by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, informed by Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation research.
Waste generation and recovery
In 2022-23:
- 2.88 tonnes of waste was generated per person, around the same as the 2.87 tonnes per person generated in 2016-17
- 66% of waste was recovered for reuse, recycling or energy, an increase from 61% in 2016-17.
Australia’s Circular Economy Framework, 2024 sets a target to safely recover 80% of resources by 2030 (in alignment with the 2024 National Waste Policy Action Plan).
- Refers to 'headline waste', which comprises 'core waste' and 'ash' – see About National Waste and Resource Recovery reporting for more detail.