Households potentially sending nearly 2.5 million tonnes of unnecessary waste to landfill, research reveals.

Planet Ark is calling on Australian households to reconsider what they are letting go to waste this National Recycling Week, with conservative estimates showing 2.44 million tonnes of the total 4.9 million tonnes of materials sent to landfill each year are either recyclable or compostable.

Planet Ark estimates 9-18 per cent (441,000 tonnes conservatively) of the material in council provided waste bins is recyclable, while a massive 41-52 per cent (2,000,900 tonnes conservatively) could be composted at home or organic processing facilities.

“These results show that about half of what Australians currently send to landfill could actually be recycled, composted or otherwise processed, which is clearly far too much,” said Planet Ark co-CEO Rebecca Gilling.

“The good news is that with just small changes our recycling behaviours and further investment in large scale food processing and composting facilities for garden and food waste, which is already underway, we could significantly reduce the quantity of waste going to landfill.”

This year’s theme “Waste isn’t waste until it’s wasted” is all about providing simple and practical tips. Running from November 7-13, National Recycling Week provides opportunities for residents and workplaces to learn simple methods of reducing their environmental footprint and preventing waste.

National Recycling Week was founded in 1996 as an opportunity for Australians to take waste and recycling into their own hands by improving their recycling knowledge and building better recycling habits.

According to Planet Ark’s research, the annual recycling rate in Australia has increased from just 7 per cent to more than 60 per cent of all disposed materials since then.

“Recycling in Australia has come a long way since 1996 and is highly valuable for both our environment and our economy,” said Gilling.

“But there is still more we could be doing to ensure valuable resources don’t end up wasted in landfill. That’s why this year Planet Ark wants people to pause and think about what they are currently sending to landfill and ask whether it is waste after all.”

Planet Ark’s estimates are derived from waste audits carried out in 41 councils across the country representing a population of almost five million Australians.

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