18 Jan • 2 min Read Fast Facts about Australian Recycling
Australia is one of the top producers of waste in the world, which is why we need to be conscious of our effect on the environment and how we can use recycling to reduce our different kinds of waste.
Want to learn more about Australian recycling? Here are a few facts to broaden your mind.
We Generate 48 Million Tonnes of Rubbish Each Year
That means we average 2.1 tonnes of rubbish per person each year. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a total of 40 percent of this rubbish is either dumped into the environment or sent to a landfill, where it cannot be recycled and will instead increase our carbon footprint.
Did you know that for every 10 tonnes of recyclable materials recovered you basically take 4 cars off the road permanently? What about the fact that annual household recycling in Victoria saves 8,960 mega litres of water. That’s the water consumption of 3,370,000 people for one week!
Aussies and Tinnies
Ever wondered what becomes of all those cans of VB? Australians use more than 3 billion aluminium cans annually. Did you know that aluminium and steel products are actually 100% recyclable? They even require less energy to produce than virgin products.
In fact, if you just recycle 6 aluminium tins, you can save enough energy to offset the carbon emissions that you’d release on a 10km trip in an average-sized car.
Australia: Leading the World in Paper Recycling
While Aussie households and businesses use millions of tonnes of paper and cardboard every year, Australia also has one of the highest rates of recycling in the world for these products. We recycle 87% of paper and cardboard and for every tonne that we recycle, 13 trees are saved!
Australia and Plastics
We love our marine wildlife but it seems that sometimes we love our plastic a bit more. It is estimated that plastic marine waste kills more than a million seabirds and 100,000 mammals each year. Increasing your plastic recycling won’t only save wildlife and the environment. Recycling one plastic drink bottle will save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
Even Our Waste Is Going Organic
Organic waste is becoming an increasingly popular way to give back to the environment. Organic materials like food, garden and lawn clippings, as well as animal and plant based materials are being composted in backyards all over the country or collected in skip bins and sent to a better place.
Recovering and recycling organic waste helps reduce greenhouse gases and water consumption while protecting our soil resources.
Do you have a little more waste than your council allows in weekly pickups? Do the right thing and hire a skip bin so that you can responsibly recycle your waste. For more information, contact Matt’s Skip Bins in Penrith today by calling 02 4708 2927 or book a bin online.
