Nationally, waste generation is growing at an average of 4.3% per year, driven by population growth and increasing consumption.

Recycling in Australia

In 2008–09, the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW, now the Office of Environment and Heritage; OEH) estimated that approximately 16.3 million tonnes of waste was generated in NSW. Of that, 42% (6.7 million tonnes) went to landfill and 58% (9.5 million tonnes) was recycled.

What does this mean for NSW?

The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy, a first for Australia, was developed under the Waste Avoidance and Recovery Act 2001 to provide NSW with a framework for reducing waste and supports the implementation of programs to avoid waste and make better use of our resources.

The strategy set challenging targets for NSW to increase recovery and utilisation of materials from the following sectors:

The table below shows the progress towards the NSW recycling targets by waste stream based on results from the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Progress Report, 2008, DECC.

Based on results from the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Progress Report, 2008, DECC).

No single sector or group can deliver these targets on its own. To achieve these results, each individual, organisation, region or sector should identify the specific contribution which they can make to help achieve them.

What does this mean for the Hawkesbury?

The amount of recyclable waste that residents put out in their yellow lidded recycling bin for collection is indicated in yellow, with the amount of waste placed in the red lidded residual waste indicated in red. The 66% reduction target that has been set for NSW as mentioned above is shown by the blue line. For the Hawkesbury to be reaching the NSW targets, the yellow recycling should be at this blue line.

The following table shows the total amount of waste produced by households in the Hawkesbury from 2000 to 2010.

The following table shows the total amount of waste produced by households in the Hawkesbury for 2011 so far:

You can help the Hawkesbury reach the targets set -
Don’t let your recycling go to waste

A Kerbside Domestic Waste Audit conducted in the Hawkesbury found 26% of the domestic waste bin to be recyclable materials. Don’t let your recycling go to waste and follow these tips to increase your recycling and reduce your waste.

This report also found contamination rates of 16% in the kerbside domestic recycling. To make sure you’re recycling right see the household recycling services.

Reducing waste is also important because it contributes to solving other environmental problems.

Waste reduction and recycling saves:

• Greenhouse gases – Putting organic materials such as food, garden, wood and paper waste in landfill means that eventually they break down and create methane (CH4), a powerful greenhouse gas, at least 21 times stronger than carbon dioxide (CO2). To reduce organic materials being sent to landfill see Composting and Wormfarming.
• Water – When using recycled materials for production the consumption of water is reduced, compared to the amount of water used when producing from virgin materials.
• Energy – When virgin materials are transformed into materials to make into products, this uses energy (e.g. electricity made from coal) which creates greenhouse gases. By recycling materials and using these in new products, virgin materials are saved and less energy needed.
• Natural Resources – By making products from recycled materials instead of virgin materials, we conserve land and reduce the need to drill for oil and dig for minerals.
• Landfill – Burying recyclable materials in landfill is a waste of valuable resources and occupies valuable space.