Where Does Household Waste Go in Australia?
In Australia, the population produces 540kg of household waste each year. Only 37% of this is recycled, leaving the rest of the trash to be dumped in landfills. While this is a significant improvement, there are still many problems with the way our waste is treated. In particular, our cities are notorious for their high levels of organic waste. Despite this, the amount of plastic in their landfills is increasing.
In 2016-17, Australia generated over 67 million tonnes of waste, mainly from the commercial and industrial sectors, construction and demolition, and households. Its residents produce an average of 103kg of plastic per year and use over 3.3 billion plastic bags, coffee cups, straws, and plastic bottles per year. The country also produces around 17m tonnes of masonry waste, 14m tonnes of organics, and 12m tonnes of ash from coal power plants. Of the remaining waste, over 5.5 million tonnes of household waste are paper and cardboard, while metal is the second most common material.
The waste stream in Australia consists primarily of organic materials, with nearly 21MT going to landfills. This organic material breaks down anaerobically in landfills, releasing methane, contributing to three percent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, it is essential to ensure that any waste disposed of responsibly is diverted to a landfill. By recycling, household waste can be reused or turned into new products.
The journey of waste depends on the type of waste. General waste is separated from recyclable materials, while food waste is sorted and sent to a sorting facility. The rest is sent to a landfill. In Australia, most general waste is sent to landfills, where most of it ends up in the environment. Fortunately, several landfills have recently been converted to biogas or composting facilities. In this way, the atmosphere is protected, and we can save money on shipping.
The number of landfills in Australia has declined dramatically since the 1990s, but the number of large landfill sites has continued to grow. Private companies are now operating these sites and are increasingly sophisticated, and they handle waste from various industries, including manufacturing and construction. Seventy percent of landfilled waste in Australia goes to 38 landfills. The amount of organic waste in these sites is relatively small compared to the volume of solid waste.
Even though the government has stated that it wants to make changes to save the planet, it does not have any infrastructure or space to manage the waste that we generate. As a result, our garbage is thrown away in landfills, a waste management problem. But there are other alternatives. The best option is to recycle the entire waste rather than send it abroad. While we may be able to use recycled plastic, we should still be conscious of how to recycle all the waste that we produce.
When we look at the country’s landfills, we can see that Queensland has the most. Although the government has the highest proportion of landfill sites, ten percent of it is interstate. Other states have large and medium-sized areas, with the Northern Territory not charging for these. Tasmania and Victoria’s most prominent regions, with a higher proportion of small to medium-sized sites. In contrast, the number of small and medium-sized landfills in Australia is low.
The government attempts to address this crisis by implementing measures to reduce waste. In particular, it has introduced mandatory recycled packaging in most household products. The government has also pledged to make food packaging more eco-friendly. By 2030, the federal government aims to have zero waste byproducts, but the government hasn’t committed to a mandatory recycling scheme in Australia.
The government does not have a centralized recycling program, and the recycling standards differ by state. The Federal Minister for Environment, Josh Frydenberg, said the government would not take on the issue of recycling unless the state’s citizens took action. In addition to ensuring that the waste is recyclable, it should be recycled as much as possible. The trash generated by Australians is not recyclable. The country has a kerbside system, but it doesn’t work for all suburbs.
[ See also: Wikipedia. – Queensland ]
