Where does your waste go?
Australia and Victoria at a glance
Australia is one of the world's largest producers of waste per head of population, second only to the United States, sending a total of more than 18 million tonnes to landfill every year. In Victoria, 36% of the total waste that goes to landfill comes from households, with a further 27% coming from building and construction waste, much of which is from home renovations and building new homes.
Over the last decade, Australian households and industries have diverted significant amounts of waste into recycling and composting that would otherwise go as rubbish to landfill. Despite this terrific effort, our total waste stream (rubbish, recycling, green waste) has increased; the average Port Phillip household today produces about 45kg more waste a year than we did 10 years ago.
What goes to landfill from our homes each year and what is it made of?
During 2007-08, a total of 32,819 tonnes solid waste was collected through the City of Port Phillip's municipal waste collection service and 39.3% of this waste was recycled. This did not include hard rubbish, green waste collections or organic waste composted at home.
| CURRENT RESIDENTIAL WASTE TO LANDFILL (2007-08) | AVERAGE KILOGRAMS PER RESIDENT PER YEAR | % OF EACH IN WASTE STREAM IN LANDFILL |
| Recyclables (glass, plastic, metal) | 10.3 | 5.6% |
| Paper | 9.9 | 5.4% |
| Cardboard | 17.3 | 9.3% |
| Garden/green waste | 23.9 | 13.0% |
| Food waste | 34.0 | 18.5% |
| Hazardous (paints, fuels, batteries, chemicals, pet poo) | 0.7 | 0.4% |
| Prohibited (sand, soil, timber, building materials) | 1.8 | 1.0% |
| Disposable (non-recyclable plastic and ceramics/glass, foam, clothes, shoes, nappies, tissues, cigarette butts) | 86.1 | 46.8% |
| TOTAL | 184.0 kilograms | 100.0% |
Of the total waste Port Phillip residents send to landfill, around 32-40% is food, garden and other organic waste, which breaks down to form methane, a much more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Converting this food and green waste to home compost instead would equate to reducing Port Phillip's current greenhouse gas emissions by around 6,672 tonnes, or about 0.15 tonnes of carbon dioxide per average household.
A further 20% is recyclable material such as paper, cardboard, glass, aluminium and steel. This means that over 50% of the waste we currently send to landfill can easily be diverted into recycling or home composting.
What is already diverted from landfill each year in Victoria?
| Waste type | Total % waste recycled in 2006-07 |
| Municipal (household) | 41% (39.3% for Port Phillip) |
| Commercial and industrial | 68% |
| Construction and demolition | 71% |
What is the total waste to landfill each person generates?
Each of us annually generates over 250 kilograms of waste to landfill through our waste patterns in and outside the home. Only around 40% of this belongs in landfill.
| TOTAL ESTIMATED WASTE | AVERAGE KILOGRAMS PER RESIDENT PER YEAR | PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL |
| Disposable waste | 87 | 34.25% |
| Food | 45 | 17.75% |
| Cardboard and paper | 30 | 11.75% |
| Garden | 24 | 9.50% |
| Recyclables | 25 | 9.85% |
| Hard rubbish | 25 | 9.85% |
| Construction and renovation | 15 | 5.90% |
| Hazardous and prohibited waste | 3 | 1.15% |
| TOTAL | 254 kilograms | 100.0% |